First chance to see new man’s thinking in action

MUNSTER SENIOR HURLING LEAGUE Cork v Kerry Sunday, January 8 Mallow GAA Complex, 2pm

WILL it be evolution or revolution? At this stage we really don’t know much of anything at all beyond what the new Kerry senior hurling manager, Fintan O’Connor, said at his press conference last week.

And in that he was obviously at a bit of a disadvantage as it was the first time he met the players as a collective and even then, with college exams and the like taking place, he didn’t have a full panel of players available to him.

Being honest, even if he had, it wouldn’t have made too much of a difference. No manager is going to make decisions on the basis of a single night’s training or even a week’s or a month’s.

All of which means, more than likely, what we’re going to see from the new man over the coming weeks will be on the basis of him getting to know the players, getting to see the level they’re at, until then no firm conclusions can be made by him or by us.

The panel for these coming games in the Munster championship is likely to be very similar to the one employed last season by former boss Ciarán Carey, with some guys dropping off the panel and some guys stepping up.

Padraig Boyle is all but certain to make a return to the inter-county scene and given Kerry’s struggles at times for scores in the Leinster championship a player of his calibre would represent a major boost.

As he worked his way back to fitness – following a cruciate injury – over the course of county championship he got better with each and every outing. His performance in the county final replay where he plundered a remarkable 2-7 tells you just what Kerry missed out on last year.

His Ballyduff colleague Paud Costello, another man who’s struggled with injury, would be another huge boost to O’Connor and his management team over the weeks and month ahead if he’s fit and raring to go.

What fresh blood could we expect to see in 2017? Could the new management team be tempted to fast track Lixnaw’s Shane Conway and Crotta O’Neill’s Barry O’Mahony into the senior squad?

And what of style of play? Could Kerry adopt a quite different style of play to the last two managers? Could Kerry adopt an approach closer to that of Waterford given Fintan O’Connor’s experience with Derek McGrath?

It’s possible but we just don’t know. From what O’Connor said it’s clear that he rules nothing in or out, other than to say he’ll assess the players he has and devise the best strategy for those players after that.

Nothing is set in stone at this early stage and that is what makes this Munster senior hurling league such an intriguing prospect. Other teams will field experimental sides, but so too will Kerry as the new man finds his feet.

An experimental Cork side will likely hold the edge this weekend.