Paudie Clifford slams ‘one-man team' jibes as Kerry silence doubters to land second Sam Maguire in three years
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Kerry ace Paudie Clifford took aim at the doubters before insisting that the Kingdom are far from a one-man team
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David and Paudie Clifford celebrate yet another All-Ireland crown after the win over Donegal
He said: "I suppose as a team, we would feel disrespected because we were in three of the last four All-Irelands and we've won two of them now.
"And to be called a one-man team when I see myself some of the work that our lads put in...
'Like, Joe O'Connor, the turnovers, winning balls, scoring, Jason Foley, Brian Ó Beaglaioch, Gavin White – I'm only naming a few. I see the work that they put in every day.
'To be called a one-man team then, it's nearly like it's disrespectful. It's kind of personal. I suppose that's the angle we were coming from.
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'We were close against Armagh last year and we'd be our own worst critics as well. We admitted that we've under-performed definitely as a team over some of the years.
'But I suppose with the work we put in and the players we have there, for them things to be said, it's not nice to hear it."
Still, with his younger sibling on course to be named Footballer of the Year for the third time in four seasons, Clifford recognises greatness when he sees it.
He said: "Obviously he's a top, top player and one of the greatest players ever. I suppose the new rules have probably given him a new lease of life. But he's had an unbelievable year. Delighted for him."
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Kerry's response was impressive after their status as All-Ireland contenders took a battering when they suffered a nine-point defeat to Meath in the group stages.
Paudie, who missed that game through injury, said: "I suppose there's a worry that you wouldn't be battle-tested. Usually that's the kind of talk about us.
Kerry star Paudie Clifford slates critics after Kingdom win 39th
'But we were definitely-battle tested and we had a lot of injuries. Losing to Meath probably ended up being the best thing that ever happened to us.
'Obviously with the new rules, we had basically the same kickout strategy, we had basically the same, say, defensive strategy since we won the league.
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'Everyone was only figuring things out and fair play to the lads. After the Meath game, we kind of realised that structurally in a few areas, we probably weren't where we should be.
'Once we fixed that and once we saw Croke Park and started getting bodies back all the time, it led from there."
A fourth All-Star award could now be in store for Clifford, who has looked as good as ever since his half-time introduction in the quarter-final against Armagh.
The 28-year-old said: "Obviously I had a good league but I just couldn't get a hamstring injury right for a while. In the lead-up to the Armagh game, I just didn't feel great that week even.
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'So I suppose I'm just delighted really that everything worked out for myself and us obviously. We put a lot of work into it all year so I'm just delighted that it worked out for us.'
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