Kerry’s future in good hands
Move for Sugrue reveals Kingdom’s succession plan
IT may be a sign of the changing times, but Kerry are taking a leaf from Cork’s book when it comes to best practice.
The great paradox of John Sugrue’s appointment as Kerry Under-20 manager this week is that it managed to catch just about everyone by surprise, even though he is more than suitable and qualified for the role.
The assumption was that after two successful years in charge of Laois, Sugrue would take a break from the game.
There was some speculation that he had been teed up for a coaching role in Kildare, joining forces with his fellow South Kerryman Jack O’Connor but that was fanciful.
If his departure from Laois was unexpected after two seasons in which he had led the county to back-to-back promotions and to the last 12 of the Championship, it could also be easily explained.
As a father to a young family and the owner of a physiotherapy business in Portlaoise, he had reasons enough to step away.
And that decision was probably made a little easier by the 14-point trimming by Cork in the fourth round of the qualifiers, the same stage at which they exited the year before. The sound of his team crashing into a glass ceiling must have been deafening.
From the small rural club Renard his relocation to Laois is unlikely to have dulled his identity or ambition.
A towering midfielder, he represented Kerry at under-age level, starting in the team that lost the 1999 U21 decider to Westmeath.
While he may not have made the step-up to inter-county senior level as a player, he would become a linchpin in a South Kerry divisional team that would include such household names as Declan O’Sullivan, Bryan Sheehan and Young that would win four county titles during the noughties, including three-in-arow from 2004-06.
And what is the link between his appointment and Cork?
Last week’s show of Rebel hurling strength amounted to a succession plan.
Dónal Óg Cusack’s recall to the fold and Pat Ryan’s presence as U20 manager suggesting that if Kieran Kingston’s second coming as manager is a brief one, Cork will hardly be spooked as they have a plan in place.
In truth, that played no part in Sugrue’s appointment but it exhibits the same mindset.
That might seem odd given that Peter Keane is just at the end of a very successful first year of three, but for all Kerry’s tradition and a thriving export market when it comes to inter-county managers, they are not blessed with a depth of options.
Had Keane not enjoyed serial success as a minor manager, the likelihood is that Kerry would have gone back to O’Connor for a third time last autumn.
In appointing Sugrue, the Kerry board will believe they have someone with the ability to lift a heavier load down the road.
There are others; Sugrue has been succeeded in Laois by Mike Quirke who will be making the road trip in the opposite direction this year, while there was the unexpected appointment of Paul Galvin as Wexford manager.
But neither can boast Sugrue’s CV, and not just because of what he has achieved with Laois. While he was still winning county championships with South Kerry as a player, he trained Kerry to a Sam Maguire under Pat O’Shea’s management in 2007.
What struck the Kerry players was how comfortable Sugrue appeared in a serial winning dressing room.
‘He was totally unfazed and the players respected that,’ recalled Marc O Se earlier this year.
And when he stopped playing for South Kerry, he kept on winning with them.
In 2015, he made the road trip back home to manage them to a county title, beating Legion in the final. And Legion’s manager? Peter Keane — they hail from the same Caherciveen parish.
Shadowing each other all the way to the top, the day may come when Surgue emerges to become the next Kingdom leader.