Wayne Quillinan believes the current Munster minor format is unfair to Kerry and Cork

Kerry minor manager Wayne Quillinan. Picture: ©INPHO/Evan Treacy

While Wayne Quillinan is happier with a quarter-final in Munster rather than a straight semi-final, but he still believes Derry, Kerry’s opponents in Saturday's All-Ireland semi-final, have a decided advantage because of the number of games they have played. 

“The big strength they have is their cohesiveness which, as I said to you before, is a gripe I’d have," said the Kerry minor manager.

"You come to Saturday, they’re going into their 13th competitive game, and we’re going into our fifth. At this level, you can’t beat that preparation. Well you can, because that’s what we intend to do. That cohesiveness, obviously it’s a lot easier to get if you’re doing it 13 times rather than four or five.

“I think it’s a fantastic thing, it’s brilliant. You have the Ulster league, and then you have their Ulster championship run off in groups. They have a round-robin before they play quarter-finals, semi-final and final. Each of the other provinces has their round-robin groups.

“When we played Roscommon, it was their seventh game, it was our fourth. So, whether it’s league or not, their championships in the other provinces provide them with a lot more games.

“I think it’s a huge thing. You go to the likes of Limerick, you go to the likes of Tipperary, you look at Tipperary this year, and we were a point up at half-time. They’re going to test you in ways, the Clares, they’ll test you in ways that you can replicate in training, but you can’t replicate that championship feeling, no matter where you’re going. That’s a huge thing for young fellas.

“You’re talking about the performance on the night of the first game here at Austin Stack Park against Cork. You can’t under-estimate the fact that the guys are putting on the jersey for the first time as a Kerry minor. “ 

Wayne believes that reaching the semi-final last year is a huge positive. Kerry lost to Monaghan in the last-four game, while the Farneymen were subsequently defeated by Derry in the decider.  So does being there last year means that he has players who know the pressure semi-finals bring?  

“I think that’s what it is. We were there last year. You can talk about Derry having the experience of a final, but that’s irrelevant for a semi-final. We’ve the same experience, with eight guys that were involved last year. We’re getting them to relay their experience of last year as well. It’s really though, from a management point of view, that we’re managing it a lot better than we did last year.

“Derry’s biggest strength is that they play as a collective. They’re well drilled, they’re excellently coached. They stick to their process, and trust their process. They’ll hurt you if you make mistakes, they are a quality team."

Max McGinnity of Monaghan in action against Daniel Kirby of Kerry during the 2023 Electric Ireland All-Ireland Football Minor Championship semi-final. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile

How does Wayne think his troops with handle the occasion on Saturday in Cusack Park? “As much as we try and play down the occasion, it’s just human nature that they’re going to be nervous that night. The more games you play, the more you become accustomed to those feelings and the more you can perform better.

“We’ve had a sports psychologist in with the lads this year. He’s been excellent, he’s actually a Clare hurler as well, so he knows the scene, and he’s very relatable to the guys. We’ve handled that through visualisation, and trying to get small wins during the week. It’s about playing down the occasion.

“You’re going to have natural nerves. At the end of the day, the pressure is in the preparation. If we go out there, which we will, knowing that we have prepared to the best of our ability that means it will lessen the pressure, because we’re ready to go, ready to play.

“Those guys have lapped up every bit of preparation, no matter what it is, whether it’s nutrition, the importance of sleep, their lifestyle, everything they do in training, tactically, technically, they’ve come together cohesively.

“You put all those together, it does lessen the pressure. It gives you that bit of confidence to look at the guys around you and go, this guy is willing to do absolutely everything for me, so I’ll do the exact same for him."

The Kerry boss is well aware of Derry’s pedigree but he believes that this Kingdom side has prepared well. “Derry have been All-Ireland favourites since day one, and rightly so. They’re in their 13th competitive game, we’re in our fifth, they haven’t been beaten in two years, and they’ve nine of last year’s squad, including six starters. That, in itself, is a huge challenge.

“We didn’t spend the last six or seven months with the Kerry minors thinking that we’re not going to win every game that you go out to play. That’s the belief and confidence that I have in our boys. If we perform to the very best, I’ll be very surprised if we weren’t there or thereabouts when the final whistle goes.”