Jack's back in the house, and savouring the view
DECIDER: Kerry manager Jack O'Connor has called going to Croke Park a privilege and a bonus. Pic: Tom O’Hanlon/Inpho
It’s not that, at nearly 66, Jack O’Connor hasn’t seen or won it all. He’s just reached a sweet spot where he understands the need, the advantage, of taking stock. Of drinking it in.
“At this hour of my life, I appreciate every game. We were above in Ballyshannon for the League game this year and I was looking around me, I’d never been there before, and I mightn’t be there again. What a great place and atmosphere, I was taking it all in and thinking how wonderful a setting this really was. Just great to be a part of it, and the same at The Athletic Grounds last Sunday in Armagh.”
It’s not that the five-time All-Ireland winning manager is getting maudlin in his advancing years. He recognises more than most where the game has come from in the last couple of years.
At the end of June 2024, Kerry and Derry stunk Croke Park out in an All-Ireland quarter final. If that wasn’t the nadir, the All-Ireland final of the same year involving Galway and Armagh cleared the house for good.
“I remember one night in training that year, standing on the sideline watching our lads trying to break down a blanket defence, and thinking the game is screwed. We played a game against Derry in Croke Park, we won the game, but it was a dog of a game, tough to watch, tough to be involved in it.
“The game had become ultra defensive, inside forwards were becoming extinct, half backs were doing a lot of the scoring, the whole game was turned on its head. The 2024 final was a turning point, one point from play scored by six inside forwards. The (forwards) spent half the time defending, and the game was going backwards at a rate of knots.”
Now, it’s…?
“Well, it’s not all about winning, but you get more of a kick where there is good football, pace and honesty in the game, good scores. That game on Sunday in Armagh was as good an hour’s entertainment as you would get in an amateur game. Both ourselves and Armagh having periods of ascendancy, very well refereed by Brendan Cawley when it wasn’t easy to keep his nerve. Overall, great day’s entertainment. So, going to Croke Park on Sunday, every time you get there, it’s a privilege and a bonus.”
O’Connor’s All-Ireland champions, statistically, have the hottest hand, the strongest attack and the meanest defence of the spring League. Donegal will set them up nicely in terms of seeing where they are at.
Speaking on a provided feed via the GAA, the Kerry boss said: “You might think I am just saying this, but we had so many players unavailable and late coming back, I was (more) worried about relegation. I wasn’t even thinking about a league final. It’s a very tricky balance in Kerry to manage players, get them back, give them minutes after a pre-season. If you told me at the start that we’d be in a league final, I’d have found it hard to believe.”
He explained: “We had to mix and match (in the league), we had to use players a little undercooked and get them fit through the games. So another game, particularly in Croke Park, is a big bonus. The League is a very tough competition, seven games in eight or nine weeks. It’s hard on the body, there are three consecutive games from rounds three to five, that’s tough going for amateur players and you need a big squad with that.
“Hence we have to keep replenishing the pool, and the new lads have acquitted themselves very well. It’s complacent to think the team you had last year will do you, that’s when you fall into the trap. We go on form, what we see in training. You have to keep the pot boiling, as keep as many players motivated and ready to play for as long as possible.”
On his own style of leadership at this veteran stage of his managerial career, the consensus from his management is that O’Connor has become a proficient delegator.
“Well, it’s important to have a healthy environment with good debates, and people expressing the opinion. That keeps everybody on their toes. We have a very democratic management and coaching group, we have regular meetings, before training and on the off days online. The problems arise when players are getting contradictory messages so it’s important to have good lines of communication.
:It is such a subtle balance, you have to show leadership but also have to listen to other people, give them time formulate their opinion. Ultimately I collate that information and come to a decision, because there has to be one decision maker. We don’t always get it right, we might have made one or two mistakes on the sideline in Armagh, and you try to learn from it. We try to do better the next time. There are no egos in the camp."
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