'There was no one from Kerry': Kingdom selector urges fans to turn out in force against Armagh

Irish Examiner

a day ago

Kerry selector Aodhán Mac Gearailt believes the Kingdom supporters turning out in force for Sunday's All-Ireland SFC quarter-final against Armagh would help the players on the pitch.
'I noticed it up in Tullamore against Meath big time," Mac Gearailt told Raidió na Gaeltachta regarding the group stage game Kerry lost to the Royals.
"There was no one from Kerry there, literally. There was very little from Kerry there and you would notice that.
'However, I have to say when we were playing in Cork I felt there was a good Kerry crowd there. They gave us great support that day. I suppose last year when we lost against Armagh (in the All-Ireland semi-final) I was in the stand I noticed it that day. There was a lot more from Armagh there on the day.
'But I also understand, when you are travelling from Ballyferriter or a place like that up to Croke Park it is a lot different from travelling from other places in the country.
"You spend four or five hours in the car going up and then coming down again. I understand that. We would love if there were more going to the matches. There is no doubt that it really boosts the players a lot but I understand it is very hard to go to every match.
'In the National League some of the games, up in Pomeroy against Tyrone and especially up in Galway when we played Galway that day and there was a good Kerry crowd there. They gave us great support and it helped. That's what David Clifford was saying (after Cavan match). It helps; it's worth a couple of points. We were under pressure that day going up to Galway and if we had lost that game we were relegated to Division 2 but we won and as a result we were in the final. That's the way it worked out. Supporters make a big difference.
'The one that stands out for me was when we were playing against Dublin in Thurles in 2001. I got a goal in one of the games - I don't know which as there were two - and you could hear the roar from the crowd and it would lift you.
'In Croke Park you wouldn't notice the crowd as much but if there is 40,000 there from Armagh and 3,000 from Kerry you would notice that out on the field."
The Kerry management team are planning for David Clifford to be double-marked by Armagh and are plotting how they will exploit the space left elsewhere.
'He got 3-7 against Cavan and there is no doubt that there will be an extra defender keeping an eye on David Clifford, something that will mean there will be freedom elsewhere on the field," said Mac Gearailt.
'We have to make sure that the person (who is free) will do damage. I suppose that after doing some analysis on it, we would have a reasonable idea who will be free for us. The tactics work both ways. We have to be clever with that person and how we use him and bring him into the game.
'But in terms of scorers more players have to stand up. We have said that to players but a lot of the time as well you have to understand when you have David Clifford, it's like Lionel Messi for Argentina, you give him the ball, but maybe other players have to say to themselves 'look I can go for it more often and I have to have the courage to go for it and not be depending on David Clifford all the time'.
Kerry will have had eight days to recover from the preliminary quarter-final victory over Cavan by the time Sunday's game against Armagh swings around. That is two more than Donegal will have for their game against Monaghan.
'It makes a difference. Every day makes a difference," said Mac Gearailt.
"I have said that in relation to injuries. When you get the results back from a scan you have an extra day (if it's a seven-day turnaround) to be ready and maybe you would get 40 minutes out of a player instead of 25 minutes.
'It makes a big difference and I understand what Jim McGuinness is saying, but the question I would have is why is there this pressure on time. That's the much more important question.
'I heard him (Jim McGuinness) talking about the amount of travel they had to do and things like that. We did a lot more travel than Donegal but we are not complaining about it. I feel that the question is why is this pressure of time there and they have to look at that to see if they can bring in a better system so there won't be this pressure at the end of the year when players aren't available because there is just a week between games. That is not fair for the players.'