Shane Ryan: Kerry make no bones about it. We want to be defensively stingy

'If you don’t concede cheap scores, if you don’t let teams exploit you easily, and you’re hard to beat, that’s the foundation for any team, regardless of the sport'

No 1: Shane Ryan enjoys competition with rival Shane Murphy. "It’s great for Shane to be pushing me, and vice-versa. We’ve a good relationship as well, we work well together, it’s healthy for both of us." Pic: Bryan Keane

For the Sam Maguire contenders with a group win already under lock and key, the next fairway doesn’t look quite so narrow.

The trick, Kerry keeper Shane Ryan reckons, is understanding it’s a means to an end. Putting it in context. Kerry put 24 points on Monaghan last Saturday and can look forward to Navan on the June bank holiday weekend with a spring in their step. But no-one’s talking July in the Kingdom set-up.