Centre of attention: Kerry midfield no cause for concern, insists Sean O'Shea

The Kenmare says he'd back the Kingdom's middle pairing against any team's.

Fri, 16 Feb, 2024 - 07:40

Paul Keane

A 'needy area' was how Marc Ó Sé put it before Christmas but if Kerry find themselves at a particular deficit in midfield these days, it isn't apparent to Sean O'Shea.

Approaching Round 3 of the National League, and Saturday's visit of Mayo to Tralee, Jack O'Connor has already looked at 25 different players.

The seasonal return of the Cliffords against Monaghan swelled those numbers but the Fossa phenoms are tried and trusted at this stage.

Of more intrigue is who O'Connor has been entrusting the number eight and nine jerseys to with Jack Barry opting out for 2024 and David Moran, his partner in the All-Ireland winning season of 2022, now in his second season of retirement.

Joe O'Connor, back after a season out with a cruciate injury, started both days while he was joined by Sean O'Brien against Derry and by Diarmuid O'Connor against Monaghan.

For the record, Ó Sé's wildcard selection to jump into the void, Mike Breen, has yet to feature in the campaign.

It's a conundrum for sure though O'Shea, who has dipped his toe in at midfield in the past himself, doesn't view it as any sort of problem zone for the Munster champions.

"No, I don't think so," said O'Shea who has been announced as the GAA's Irish Language Ambassador for 2024. "We'd back our midfield to compete against any of the midfields in the country. So it's an area that we feel we're well equipped to take on any team really.

"There are some great lads there. I suppose at the moment you're kind of looking at Diarmuid, you're looking at Joe, you're looking at Barry Dan (O'Sullivan), you have Sean O'Brien, you have Adrian Spillane as well who has played there. There's a few different fellas who can go in there on a given day. So we're well stocked in that department."

The league then, and Kerry's remaining ties against Mayo, Dublin, Tyrone, Roscommon and Galway, will be used to settle on a preferred pairing? O'Shea wouldn't even concede that much.

"You could say that about every position really," he noted. "That's what the league is about, trying to cement your spots going forward and trying to find players in different positions and see what works. That's part of the league as well, trying to find those players all around the field."

He is more definite about the return of Joe O'Connor, whom O'Shea stood in for as captain when the then skipper wasn't starting games in 2022 - they eventually hoisted the Sam Maguire Cup jointly - and how much of a positive it is.

"It's a long old process," said O'Shea of the journey back from a cruciate injury. "Jeez, he worked so hard away on his own to get himself into unbelievable shape. He did everything by the book, and more. A lot of fellas will do that and they won't make it back, they might get another injury or something might go wrong in the rehab process. It's great for Joe and it's great for us as a group. He's a great character and a great fella to have around. He brings really positive energy around the group."

Stefan Okunbor is another middle third option though he hasn't featured yet in the campaign. One player who definitely won't pull on a Kerry jersey again this term is Micheal Burns. The experienced Dr Crokes forward started the narrow defeat to Derry but was overlooked for the Monaghan game and has left the panel.

In the end, the juice simply wasn't worth the squeeze for him.

"You see it with every panel, there comes a day where a fella is deciding to step away from it and maybe approach life in...to maybe look for something else in life," said schoolteacher O'Shea. "He's a great fella, I have great time for Micheal. I'd be in touch with him a good bit. He's obviously going to be a big loss for us."

Austin Gleeson spoke during the week about a similar cost-benefit analysis he undertook before taking a year out from the Waterford hurlers. Now in his seventh season with Kerry, O'Shea understands that it is a pressurised environment to keep coming back into. But he is happy to do it.

"I don't even know how many years it is, I've stopped counting," said the Kenmare man. "But of course there's pressure there, there is definitely pressure there. I saw that interview with Austin Gleeson, he burst onto the scene really young and he won Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year. Probably in a way he felt he had the weight of the county on him in Waterford at that stage, being that young and winning those two awards.

"I'd wish him all the best because when you're in there it's definitely a very intense bubble. But when you're enjoying it, it's also a great place to be."

As for the visit of Mayo, who beat Kerry in the championship in Killarney last May, the in-form O'Shea - he has contributed 3-25 since the start of the McGrath Cup - is excited.

"There will be a special atmosphere," he predicted. "There's something about those nights under lights in the league, pure darkness and you're playing under lights. They're a great occasion to be part of."