JOBS ON THE LINE AS KINGDOM HEAD TO CLONES TO FACE MONAGHAN IN DO OR DIE CLASH

Young suspended with injury concerns for Morley and Foley

DEFEAT, under certain circumstances, won’t necessarily mean Kerry’s earliest exit from the All-Ireland Championship since 1999, but Éamonn Fitzmaurice and the players head to Clones on Sunday knowing anything other than a win won’t be acceptable by either themselves or the Kerry public.

Last Sunday’s Super 8 first round loss to Galway can’t be regarded as an altogether shock result, but the nature of the Kerry performance has left many people wondering what the immediate future holds for this team and, by extension, the management. Fitzmaurice knows that while defeat mightn’t send the team out of the Championship on Sunday evening he will be very aware than in those circumstances nothing less than delivering the Sam Maguire on September 2 will probably be good enough to save his job.

If Kerry’s Championship hopes end on Sunday there would still be a redundant Round 3 game to be played against Kildare on August 4, but Clones would surely be the last stop for a few Kerry players whose inter-county careers will surely finish up at the end of this season.

It is, of course, premature this week to be talking about anything other than what’s required against Monaghan next Sunday, but if Galway have beaten Kildare earlier in the day then nothing but a Kerry win in Clones will save their summer. And that, inevitably, will at the very least put Fitzmaurice and the management team under the microscope for serious scrutiny, notwithstanding the fact that this is year one of Fitzmaurice’s threeyear term as manager.

“I keep saying it, that we’re a work in progress. We have a lot of changes made. We’re trying to go in a direction, but when you’re doing that, sometimes you’re going to get caught with a knock-out and we did today” he said on Sunday evening, but the public’s patience – perhaps even the County Committee executive – will be stretched to breaking point if Kerry come up short in Clones.

Of more immediate concern for the management will be the availability of defenders Tadhg Morley and Jason Foley who are on the treatment table this week. Morley picked up what Fitzmaurice described as a “minor” groin problem. Foley had to be replaced in the second half with a knee injury and it’s understood that the Ballydonoghue club man had a medical scan on the Tuesday.

Both players will be closely monitored this week, but Killian Young (pictured) will not be available as he will serve a one game suspension after being red carded last Sunday for a striking offence.

Shane Enright is expected to be available to play having missed all three Championship games this year with an ankle injury, and the Tarbert man may well be drafted back into the full back line to help curtail Monaghan’s ace forward Conor McManus.

Meanwhile, Maurice Deegan from Laois has been named as Sunday’s match referee.

Monaghan’s Conor McManus is tackled by Shane Enright during their Allianz League meeting in Killarney last year. The counties meet in a hugely significant Super 8 Rou nd 2 game in Clones next Sunday with Enright expected to be recalled to the starting team having missed the last three games through injury