Keane not interested in

Paul Brennan got the thoughts of Kerry manager Peter Keane as he came off the Breffni Park pitch after Kerry’s second League win in a row

MAIN MAN

Even leaving aside the 12 points (two from play) he scored, SEAN O’SHEA’S contribution from general play was excellent and necessary during those periods when Kerry needed some go forward impetus and leadership

KEY MOMENT

Kerry had fought back to parity in the third quarter but then saw Tom O’Sullivan go to the ‘sin bin’ in the 59th minute. A score for Cavan then could have really titled the momentum back their way but instead Mark Griffin, only on the field a couple of minutes, finished a slick passing move with a confident point to give Kerry the lead for the first time

TALKING POINT

Barely had the full time whistle sounded in faraway Cavan than the focussed switched back to Tralee and the visit of Dublin next Saturday. The four points collected thus far eases some pressure on Kerry insofar as their Division One standing goes, but make no mistake, Saturday is all about putting it up to and trying to take down the League champions

TRUE to his word Peter Keane isn’t getting too excited about the good early results in the League. Certainly there were pleasant handshakes and smiles all round between him and his management team and players on the edge of Breffni Park last Sunday as Kerry made it two wins from two, but you believe Keane when he says winning these games isn’t the be all and end all right now.

Keane is sticking to the line that he is still in the getting-to-knowyou period with the players and still trying to lay the small and simple but important flagstones omn which bigger things will be built.

As pleasing for the supporters as the wins over Tyrone and Cavan have been, the thoughts this week are very much focussed ahead to Saturday evening and the visit of Dublin to Tralee, and the majority of the sell-out crowd of over 12,000 will come with plenty of expectation that Kerry can make it a hat trick of wins under Keane and inflict at least a little discomfort on the League and All-Ireland champions.

Keane, understandably, isn’t too bothered about the hype and hope that will build this week to a crescendo on Saturday evening, and is rather more concerned with assembling a panel that can be competitive at the weekend.

“I don’t see managing (the public’s) expectations anywhere in my brief,” he said after the Cavan game, “but at the end of the day my biggest concern is heading home and finding out in the next couple of days and maybe even as late as Wednesday night where we’re at with players. I said this last week in Killarney as well, winning and losing, it’s always better to win of course, but winning or losing wasn’t going to be a priority. The thing is to try and find some scratch of a team. Even this week we were on the road, travelled up (Saturday) and it’s just getting used to each other and getting a handle on each other. Likewise the players getting a handle on us as a management and seeing where we’re at.”

Asked if the recent wins will give the Kerry players some positive momentum going into Saturday’s match Keane said: “I wouldn’t call it momentum because at this stage you’re trying to put a team together and there’s fellas coming and fellas going. Even mid-week last week we lost Gavin Crowley (to injury) in a Sigerson Cup game. Dara Moynihan had played in that