"We think there’s stuff left in the tank"
Two years ago Jack O’Connor brought his Kerry team up to Páirc Uí Chaoimh with high hopes of winning the Munster football final replay but left the ground in somewhat of a depressed state after a display which reflected a poor run of form from their opening game against Waterford.
However, very quickly they turned things around after the inspired decision to play Kieran Donaghy at full-forward and went on to win back the All-Ireland title they had lost to Tyrone the year before.
The Kingdom are back in Cork this evening (5pm) for a semi-final replay earned by a dramatic late recovery of form in Killarney last Sunday.
While circumstances are different from two years ago, there is an interesting parallel in the fact of his team having their backs to the wall and facing a Cork side whose continuing advancement is a tribute to the management of Conor Counihan.
O’Connor doesn’t view this merely as a single challenge — albeit a major one.
Much more pertinently, he feels that it could go a long way towards determining whether or not Kerry can justify a rating which has them as co-favourites with Tyrone for the Sam Maguire Cup.
"A lot of fellows are thinking this team is coming to an end — that the fire might be gone out of the belly. We think there’s stuff left in the tank.
This will tell us exactly where we stand and that’s a great thing in the month of June."
