'Scary thought' how good Kerry forwards could be with Donaghy influence, says Campbell

MASTER N' COMMANDER: Kerry manager Jack O'Connor and Kieran Donaghy, left, before the Armagh showdown. Pic: Ray McManus/Sportsfile

Former Armagh attacker Stefan Campbell says it's a 'scary thought' how good the Kerry forwards can become with Kieran Donaghy's help as coach.

Donaghy spent five years coaching Armagh, a period in which they won the All-Ireland, and Campbell said that the Tralee man is now as much an 'Armagh legend' as he is a Kerry icon.

Campbell, who set up Armagh's crucial goal in the 2024 All-Ireland final win with a perfectly executed left-handed handpass, said he personally benefited hugely from Donaghy's individual coaching.

But he said he'd have preferred if 'Star' hadn't left Armagh for All-Ireland rivals Kerry, saying it would be naive to think the former Footballer of the Year 'hasn't 'shared the full (Armagh) playbook' with Jack O'Connor.

Kerry will take on Armagh's other great rivals, Donegal, in Sunday's National League Division 1 final.

"He is huge and the danger is, how much is he going to improve that Kerry forward line?" said Campbell of Donaghy at the launch of the GAA+ Season Pass and schedule of games for 2026.

"Are they over reliant on David Clifford? Obviously not. But if he can go down there and improve David in terms of those back door cuts, the overloads, the manipulation, you know, the stuff that comes from that basketball defence and how you manipulate it, it's a scary thought.

"It would be silly of me to say that he hasn't shared the full (Armagh) playbook. I think from an Armagh perspective, we would have preferred if he'd taken a year out instead of going directly back to what we see as a rival for the All-Ireland.

Kieran Donaghy gives Joe O’Connor some guidance. Pic: James Lawlor/Inpho

"But I wish him the best, he did a lot for us, he gave up a lot of his time and at the end of the day, he's not only a Kerry legend but he's an Armagh legend as far as I'm concerned."

Campbell joined the Armagh panel in 2011, making his Championship debut two years later, and only retired last October.

He said that Donaghy had a big impact on improving him at the tail end of his Orchard career.

"He was able to correct my technique," said 'Soupy'. "I kicked a lot of balls in the air, if the balls were going over the bar they were dropping on the net and the ball would just spend too much time in the air.

"He noticed that from even before he came into Armagh. One of the first times I met him, he corrected my game, basic stuff but he nailed it. It was 'keep the head down, get that full follow through'. Whereas you'd be maybe leaning back and trying to see where the ball is going first.

"It gives the ball more hang time and would be taking distance off your strike. That's where I sometimes would have struggled, he noticed that straight away.

"His big coaching point is that he does everything at match pace. His point was, what's the point in practicing at half pace? Then you come out in Croke Park and time is very scarce when you're out there.

"It's about getting that ball out of your hands as quickly as possible but it's about having that technique and having that follow through, and keeping everything aligned.

"The big players don't have to think about that stuff because it's so natural for them. I wouldn't just have been as natural as the likes of Rian O'Neill and Rory Grugan and these Armagh boys."

*GAA+, the GAA's wholly owned live and on-demand streaming platform, has launched its 2026 Season Pass and exclusive 40-match broadcast schedule. Visit www.gaaplus.ie to purchase.