Paudie Clifford confident he will get 'enough of a break' between club and county

Fossa will fancy going deep into the winter months again meaning that Kerry could potentially be without Paudie and David Clifford's services for a chunk of 2027.

AIB ambassador Paudie Clifford (Fossa) at the launch of the AIB GAA, LGFA, and Camogie All-Ireland Club Championships. Pic: INPHO/Dan Sheridan

Paudie Clifford is confident he'll get an adequate break after the club campaign but has acknowledged it could mean 'missing a few League games' with Kerry.

Kingdom manager Jack O'Connor is desperate to get his players some significant downtime over winter though a work group proposal to introduce a guaranteed four-to-six-week break was rejected by a county board vote.

Clubs railed against the idea with accusations ahead of the vote that it wasn't so much about player welfare as a 'player ownership grab'.

Clifford, currently preparing for an AIB Munster club IFC campaign with Fossa, said his understanding is that 'they'll still be aiming to get the four-week break and hoping that will pay off later on in the season'.

Fossa, AIB All-Ireland club junior champions in 2023, will fancy going deep into the winter months again, meaning that Kerry could potentially be without Paudie and David Clifford's services for a chunk of 2027.

"However long we go with Fossa, the S&C and Jack and all the lads will give us enough of a break that we'll get a chance to down tools for a few weeks and then build it back up," said Clifford at the launch of the AIB club championships.

"So we'll get enough of a break that we'll be ready to go again. It might mean missing a few League games, but I think we'll be fine."

Clifford made just two League appearances last spring, starting only one game, and battled a hamstring injury during the Championship. 

O'Connor has been a consistent critic of the amount of club football being played generally by Kerry's county players, arguing that it 'takes its toll' and has contributed to fatigue and injuries.

But the recommendation of a four-to-six-week guaranteed break was shot down by county board delegates, by 52 votes to 28. One delegate also claimed that if player welfare really is a priority, established Kingdom players shouldn't be competing in the McGrath Cup in January.

"I'm not exactly sure what went on in that (county board) meeting but I think what would probably happen is that, say with the McGrath Cup and the early League games, the management team will probably try to give lads the four weeks from when their clubs finished," said Clifford.

"Because you'd be thinking that there's going to be enough players that will have finished that bit earlier. So they might be able to work that out in another way, if you get me. And, again, I'm not exactly sure what went on in that meeting but I do know that they'll still be aiming to get the four-week break and hoping that will pay off later on in the season."

One of Clifford's spring assignments when he does return with Kerry may be against Galway, now managed by Eamonn Fitzmaurice. The Finuge man, and former Kerry chief, was part of the Fossa management when they won that AIB All-Ireland junior title in 2023.

"He just added so much to us," said Clifford. "So, unfortunately, he's going to add a lot to Galway. I suppose he just felt it was an opportunity that he wanted to give it a go. I wish him the best because I have massive time for him as a person and a coach."

Clifford won't face Donegal's Finbarr Roarty though, his marker in League and Championship tussles earlier this year. The Glenties defender has signed a two-year AFL deal with Collingwood.

"He's a big loss for his club and a big loss for Donegal, we've been hit hard by it ourselves," said Clifford of the drain of talent to the AFL.