Where team-mate John Payne believes Dr Crokes needed the break enforced upon them by Nemo Rangers last November, Casey — chasing a fifth Munster club medal on Sunday — couldn’t see the positives in having a few months downtime before the 2018 season swung into life.

A county league final and the East Kerry championship will keep Pat O’Shea’s charges busy throughout December and it is Casey’s hope that an All-Ireland semi-final will give them cause to continue congregating every Tuesday and Thursday throughout January and early February.

“I don’t enjoy the winters off, I certainly didn’t enjoy having last winter off,” explained Casey.

“It is fine going out for pints and stuff like that. That’s enjoyable too, but it is hard to beat training on a Tuesday or Thursday. There’s a great bond around here, even hanging around with the lads up at the pitch is always good fun.”

Sunday’s Munster club final date with Miltown-Malbay is the Crokes’ 10th provincial final appearance and an obvious source of motivation is the manner in which they were outgunned by Nemo Rangers in the 2017 decider.

The 0-16 to 0-11 reverse represented the club’s first championship defeat in 25 months, going right the way back to October of 2015.

Casey has no qualms with the defeat. What annoys him is that Crokes never showed up.

“The biggest thing for me is that we didn’t perform to the level we could. That was a combination of us not playing well and Nemo blocking us.

I remember coming off the field that day and being disgusted. Nobody could say they played to the level they were capable of.

“Yes, Luke [Connolly] was unstoppable, but we were probably naive in that we should have shut him down properly.

“Hopefully, if we can win on Sunday, it will be some sort of atonement.

“The biggest word in our dressing-room is perform. We didn’t perform.

"That was a sickener, especially over the winter to be thinking back if only we had performed, and to be watching Nemo get to Croke Park, it was a disappointing one to take.

"That focused us for this year and to get back to these big days.”

Corner-back and captain John Payne, who joined the panel in 2006, still cannot explain what happened to them 12 months ago in Páirc Uí Rinn.

“Possibly, it was a bit of complacency but I don’t know really. In the training leading up to it, everything was going well. There were no injuries.

“Boys were hopping off the sod, even in the warm-up. Everything came crumbling down once the ball was thrown in.

“Hopefully, we have learned our lessons and turn up on the day.”

No sooner had the final whistle blown on Crokes’ 21-point thumping of St Finbarr’s and Corofin’s 28-point dismissal of Roscommon’s Clann na nGael a fortnight ago then a St Patrick’s day decider between the Kerry and Galway champions was being talked up.

Casey agrees the players didn’t need to be told not to be looking beyond Miltown-Malbay.

“We’ve been talked up before and haven’t delivered,” Casey continued. “There is too much experience in the group to be getting ahead of ourselves.

"We’ve learned from past experiences. The day we get ahead of ourselves is the day we will be put back on our arse.”

Added Payne: “I’d be confident no one is looking beyond Sunday. That would be stupid if they did. Look at what happened in the Kerins O’Rahilly’s county championship game this year.

"We were 10 up and thought we had the game won. When they got a run on us then, we weren’t able to switch it back on.

"We won’t allow ourselves be caught like that again.”