‘This idea that the Crokes are finished, I dare anybody to say that, to be honest’

SUNDAY’S East Kerry Final resulted in a chastening defeat to end Dr Crokes’ season, but selector Niall ‘Botty’ O’Callaghan certainly wasn’t making any excuses for such a disappointing result and performance after the game at Fitzgerald Stadium.

“It would have been nice to win something at the end of the year. From the Crokes’ point of view, when you don’t win something, it’s always a bad year,” he said.

“We just have to lick our wounds and get on with it. We’re big enough to accept it. We were beaten by the better team on the day. They were hungrier, fitter and mentally fresher than us.

“At the end of the day, you go to the well so many times over the course of a huge career. It’s hard to keep going. But I wouldn’t take anything away from Legion’s performance.

They were just outstanding today, they won every battle, they won the lines on the field today where we couldn’t get a platform.

“They hadn’t won it since 1976 so they had the motivation. They beat us fair and square,” admitted O’Callaghan.

The Dr Crokes selector was also fully aware that, even with a five point deficit at half-time, the holders were in a decent position, especially with the wind in their favour in the second half, but the fast start that they required on the resumption just didn’t happen.

“We were five points down, but were happy enough at half-time. We thought if we got one or two scores to get back in the game, if it got close and tightened up near the end, they might get a bit jiggy because they hadn’t won it, and we know we can, but they came out with all guns blazing and they got the scores that mattered. Our goals never really influenced the game. We were getting goals when we were ten points down. That’s all down to Legion and their performance, their coaching, everything about them today was top class.

“From our point of view, we have won our fair share of trophies in the last few years. All you can do is wish Legion the best of luck. We hope they enjoy it and have a good Christmas. Hopefully, we can have a Christmas where we can regroup and give fellas some time off. We’ll look at it in the middle of February and try to freshen it up. In Kerry football now, you have to be ready for the first of April. The club championship means everything now.”

Will there be changes to the management team and the playing group?

“There will be a few of us change over, we’ll sit down and talk. From Edmund’s [O’Sullivan] point of view, it’s been a tough year. He’s put a lot into it but things just didn’t go our way.

“Tiredness etc, you can use all the excuses but, at the end of the day, you’re on a field of play with the Killarney Legion, your biggest rivals. When you’re growing up as a young fella, you picture yourself playing for Dr Crokes against Legion. We have had enough of good days. They have beaten us now twice in the last eight or nine years and fair and square on both occasions.”

What about the perception out there that, having lost several big finals in 2019, Dr Crokes are a team on the slide? O’Callaghan gives very short shrift to that viewpoint.

“This idea that the Crokes are finished, I dare anybody to say that, to be honest. There’s fellas in that dressing-room at only 30 or 31 years of age. We’re just going to get a rest now. Anybody who thinks the Crokes are gone or over the hill, I’ll challenge you next year.

“At the moment, there’s nobody walking away. From talking to the boys, they’re all just eager to get a break and see what the story is on the first of February. There’s a serious hunger there in the dressing-room to keep it going.

“You learn more from the days you lose, the feeling of losing, losing to your biggest rivals, than you do when you win. This year is a learning curve and, hopefully, we can come back.

“It goes back to the County Final. If we had won that, you’d be looking at a different season.”

O’Callaghan and Dr Crokes. Down but not out. Roll on 2020.