Dennehy hopeful Kerry can cause huge upset

SPEAKING ahead of the big game Kerry team manager Billy Dennehy says everyone involved is really excited and eagerly await the national final which is a feat very few Kerry teams have reached over the years.

It is a dream come true for the Tralee man who began his coaching career in Kerry a year ago helping out with the Kerry under-13 and 15 sides.

Managing to secure Dennehy as under-17 manager was a great acquisition for the KDL and while he is new to the management scene at this level he has shown he is really up to the task.

He is not an easy taskmaster as he expects the best from his players and makes everyone work hard during their training sessions.

The Tralee man has played the game cross-channel with a number of clubs and came back to play League of Ireland football with Derry City, St Patrick’s Athletic, Shamrock Rovers, Cork City and Limerick FC.

He retired from the game last year and took up his new appointment this year and has taken to it like a duck to water.

“Having seen the wonderful facilities which are in place at Mounthawk Park I decided I would put something back into the game and decided to get involved in the game at underage level and was delighted to be appointed manager of the Kerry under-17 team,” he said.

“Starting out on January 9 we began moulding this squad together and while a number of players went out and in we now have the squad that is getting the results we have been seeking. It took the team a while to find their feet in the league but once they did they began to start getting good results. They got into a winning sequence in the league and brought this forward to the cup and now they are in the final.

“Nobody outside our group thought we would get to a national final and now that this has happened we’ll go and do our very best to win it. We will be right up against it against this Dublin side and it will take a huge effort to win the game.

“The lads have been fantastic all season and now they have a chance to win silverware. We have strong squad and competition for places on the starting line up are intense.”

Dennehy says he has no injury worries ahead of the big game and says they will be in the right frame of mind going into the big game. Asked how he rated their chances in the final the Kerry boss said it all depends how things go on the day.

“We have enjoyed a good level of consistency in recent weeks and we must keep the momentum going in the final. Everything has been going smoothly on the training pitch and all the lads are looking forward to the big game,” Dennehy says.