NO HIDING PLACE
Players feeling the heat online, says Kerry boss
ÉAMONN FITZMAURICE fears his young Kerry players have no escape from the pressure in the build up to Saturday’s must-win Super 8s clash with Kildare.
The Kingdom boss reckons it is easy for him to switch off and ignore detractors but admits there are those on his panel who have an obsession with social media so get no respite from negative comments.
‘It is not hard for me to get away from the pressure, but I do think it is hard for the players,’ Fitzmaurice admitted.
‘I am off from work at the moment so I can go into the bunker and be hard to get. I did that after the Galway game. I am from a slightly older generation than the lads in that I can actually put my phone out of my hand for five minutes and avoid what’s on it.
‘I think for the players, it is challenging when they are working and meeting people and so much of their lives are on their phones. It is hard to
avoid a lot of it. They are meeting people in the street, they might mean the best in the world, but but we can be direct in Kerry and that can be challenging for the players. ‘But it is all part of the learning process and the easiest way to create positivity is to win games,’ added the Finuge clubman. Fitzmaurice (left) will need all that positivity at the weekend when Kerry must beat Kildare and hope Monaghan lose in Salthill, while also hoping to overcome a five-point scoring difference with the Farney men. For all that, and the fact that the Munster champions have yet to win a game in the new All-Ireland quarterfinal format, the manager is comfortable with the level of expectation that is placed on him. And while many commentators may argue that this current panel is in transition, he knows that Kingdom sides are rarely afforded the luxury of lengthy rebuilding programmes. ‘I am thoroughly enjoying the challenge. ‘I am always that way as I seem to find the hard way of doing everything. You are not thinking about long-term plans. ‘Of course, you are aware that some of the exposure that the younger lads are getting at the moment will help them in terms of their longterm development. ‘But all we are focused on within the group is the here and now and the Kildare game. Try to win that and see where it takes us.’ Fitzmaurice received criticism for his team selection in Clones, and for refusing to play a sweeper in front of Conor McManus, who ran amok, but he defended the decision. ‘To be fair to Monaghan, they play orthodox when they have the ball so it is harder to get someone back in place while Galway have more or less most of their team behind the ball,’ he said. Kerry have also been handed a boost ahead of the weekend with Kildare’s Daniel Flynn suspended. The talented forward
was dismissed for an attempted strike on Galway’s Seán Andy Ó Ceallaigh in the second half of Kildare’s three-point defeat in Newbridge. Flynn can still bring the case to the Central Appeals Committee (CAC) and the Disputes Resolution Authority (DRA), should that appeal fail. Meanwhile, Colin Walshe claims Monaghan, who need a draw to be certain of making the last four, have a motivation edge on Galway, who are already assured of a semi-final place. ‘It is probably tough in their regard whereas we know we’re going in with the frame of mind that this is our last game of the year.’