Limerick boss Kiely also a victim of hate mail

LIMERICK hurling manager John Kiely revealed that he, too, has been on the end of abusive fan mail. In a week when Éamonn Fitzmaurice stepped down as Kerry manager, referencing the boxful of critical letters he had received in the post, the Treaty boss said he had been similarly targeted. ‘Listen, you get it,’ admitted the man who has guided Limerick to an All-Ireland final for the first time since 2007. ‘You do, even when you win, would you believe? I find that strange, that even when you win you get a letter of criticism. It’s a free world, and I know you’re up for criticism. That’s the bottom line. ‘People want the team to win and to do well, and other people have their ideas about how it could be done or should be done, the tactical approach, whatever it may be. ‘But they came, and I have a box at home, too. I keep it in the box, it stays in the box. My wife picks it up and vets it and doesn’t let anything too serious come my way.’ Kiely also revealed that such an unforgiving environment made him think twice about taking up the appointment for the 2017 season. ‘I’ll be straight with you, it was a consideration before I

took up the job. My girls were young, and I decided to take it on and that was one of the factors, that the girls were so young. They wouldn’t be exposed to that stuff because they’re young. ‘I’ve no regrets on that score. There are so many different outlets — some of them are legitimate, they’re fair, but more of them are anonymous. ‘If someone here wants to do something that isn’t positive, that’s fine. It’s someone’s opinion and they’re putting their name to it. That’s fine, one hundred per cent. And maybe they’re right, too. There are times we get it wrong, and maybe they’re right. ‘But the anonymous stuff is just nasty. Éamonn [Fitzmaurice] is right. It has no place in the game, it’s unfortunate, but it’s there.’ Kiely is confident, however, that even in an era of constant social media exposure, players learn to shut out the negativity. ‘I think players may have one bad experience and steer well clear from it. You’re not going to back for a beating — you won’t go down the same dark street if you get a clipping the first night. ‘That’s the advice they get but you can’t police what they do either. They’re on social media, they’re young lads and they’re reared on social media, but they have the good sense to stay away from it as much as possible.’