Gospel of fellow Kerryman Pat O'Shea guides Diarmuid O'Carroll on coaching journey

Now working under Brian Priske at Sparta Prague while also assisting Michael O’Neill with Northern Ireland, Diarmuid O’Carroll opens up on his rise, his ambition to manage in his own right and the GAA influence behind his coaching outlook

Kerryman Diarmuid O'Carroll has been assistant coach at Sparta Prague for the last nine months. Pic: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne

Sometimes Diarmuid O’Carroll gazes up into Great Strahov Stadium, once the biggest sports arena in the world, and ponders his journey from Killarney to Prague.

The concrete mass had a capacity of 250,000, staged Adolf Hitler’s 50th birthday and a mass by Pope John Paul, but exactly a century after construction, is used solely as Sparta Prague’s training ground.