No pain, no gain for master of reality

Interview with Joe Kernan: In the slow days of January, when sporting ambitions are universally overhauled, Joe Kernan finds himself still possessed by an old resolution. It's over five months now since his Armagh team lost to Fermanagh in the All-Ireland football quarter-final but the scar is still fresh.

Kernan is the master of dealing in absolute realism, yet what happened in Croke Park on that first Saturday in August will ensure that so much of the new season will be retrospective. While in the past his Armagh team were driven by hunger, they are now driven by hurt. Desire has been replaced by discomfort.

"Right now I feel that hurt is still lingering," he says, "but, of course, I won't know how much so until the championship starts. But yeah, we do think about last summer's championship as one we left behind. And I don't like losing. All that hurts."

Even in the depths of the quiet season Kernan talks football with a bellowing voice that could break windows. He cares passionately about Armagh football, mostly because he believes in Armagh football. Without that the county would not have won the All-Ireland in 2002. Three years on that belief remains the foundation of his role as manager.

When they'd gathered together on the night Fermanagh had beaten them by a point, Kernan didn't need to ask about the future. 'Them bhays', as he always says, had already made up their minds: "They've been through so much, even before we arrived three years ago. They've had so many disappointments before. You hope they can still learn from that, but there was a resolve to go on that night, because of the hurt, and the pain, and the heartbreak.

"And if those things weren't there then we wouldn't even be talking about this year. For the simple reason that without any pain they'd obviously lose the desire to go out there and perform. Everyone was hurting; the management, the players, even the supporters. And there was no head-hunting or anything like that. No one wanted to end it there."

Still, that defeat to Fermanagh, which followed their fearsome Ulster title win over Donegal, was arguably the greatest upset of the summer. Yet it wasn't so much a low point in Kernan's career as much as an unfamiliar point.

Whenever Armagh lost it wasn't easily blamed on their own preparations. Perfection, as Kernan well knows, is in the detail, and certain details in those preparations were not right.

"I still think the time we had to prepare was a factor. A lot of counties such as Limerick have suffered from a short time, but we actually had five weeks' break, and then five days before we knew who we were playing in one of the most important matches of the year.

"And the media and supporters did get carried away after the Donegal game, and I think we did fall into that trap. That's not to take anything away from Fermanagh. They played better on the day, but my job is to look after my team, and I can only hope that if we're in a situation like that again the same thing won't happen."

When, at the final whistle, the Fermanagh players fell to their knees with the thrill of it all, Kernan could only stare straight ahead, as if hit by a tranquilliser bullet. Even after months of reflection the memories are sketchy.

"I remember we'd a great chance of a goal before half-time that would have been us eight points to one up, and we fluffed that. And then Diarmuid Marsden hit the crossbar. But that stuff will always happen, and you have to cope with it. We just didn't cope on the day."

He's never used Enda McNulty's dismissal before half-time as any sort of excuse, nor Brian Mallon's late chance to seal it. He just knows it wasn't the ending to the championship he had planned.

"The way the boys prepared, the way they behaved themselves, everything was done right. We came out of Ulster after some tough games, which you always expect, and then at the Ulster final I thought we really excelled on the day. After that I told the boys the knives would be out, and we had to keep our feet on the ground. So without a doubt we feel we left something behind."

Evolution doesn't embrace lost opportunities, and there is no guarantee Armagh can recreate that sort of impetus next summer. Age is now a real factor with many of his main players. The mind might still be strong, but the body will eventually grow weak. Kernan feels there is still enough there.

"I honestly believe the panel I have is still good enough. We were so lucky that after we lost, we had an under-21 team that won the All-Ireland. That gives me a great opportunity to blood new players. Freshness is what keeps panels going, in that even older players can draw from it, and that's one thing I think we'll have for this year's championship.

"And I know that Armagh will win another All-Ireland. I don't know if it will be this year, but the so-called problems we had before we won the first don't exist. This jinx, or whatever it was."

Kernan's own mindset has evolved from a year ago. When Armagh lost the 2003 final to Tyrone, the feeling was he'd give it one more go. Now any such timeframe seems irrelevant. The under-21 victory has given the county a real future. So what is more likely to determine Kernan's future is the future of the players around him, and right now he's not worried about that.

"All of them boys are just like any other player who has won an All-Ireland. They want another one. They know time is running out, and every game could be their last. So the experience they have now is so important to us.

"But they keep coming back for more, and that does amaze a little bit. Someone like Oisín McConville has come out for the last 10 or 12 years and played every match, and never missed a training session. He's had some injury problems now but I expect him to be there again come the championship.

"It's the same with the likes of Kieran McGeeney and Paul McGrane and Diarmuid Marsden. All these boys have had their hearts broken so many times, and they keep coming back. They're just unbelievable men, who love the game and have an appetite for success that will always be hard to replace. And nobody can tell me that with a bit of luck on their side they can't do it again."

McGeeney has taken a more extreme sabbatical than normal and travelled the world during the closed season, but is back next week and features prominently in Kernan's plans. In fact the most surprising thing about Kernan's approach to 2005 is how little he intends changing it - same backroom team, same tactics, and largely the same panel.

"Well I'd always be looking to improve. At this moment I'm looking at a few different things, and we're definitely not afraid of change. But John McCloskey is the best trainer I've worked with in 30 years, so why should I even think about changing him. It's the same with Paul Grimley. The three of us are very close and we work well together.

"It's just back to the routine. Most of the stuff you do in any sport is repetitive. Being successful in any sport is about monotonous practice. Just ask Ronan O'Gara. It's all about perfecting the skill you have, with a little more running or gym work. That's all you have to do.

"I believe every team gets their chance to be successful. So it's about taking your chance. Kerry did change their game a little last year, but that just made them a better all-round team. But I don't think there is anything wrong with our style of play. We can only perfect our own game, and a large part of that means making fewer mistakes. But also passing better, scoring better, and being better at our tackling. There are always things to improve on. You go out looking for perfection every day, but of course most of the time you have to grind out results."

Destiny has once again combined Armagh with Fermanagh in the first round of the Ulster championship. Kernan laughs that one off, almost like he'd planned it.

"Sure I never hope for anybody, because you can only play whoever comes out of the hat. It's good for the championship, suppose, and if we perform then hopefully it will be good for us.

"Fermanagh will have that added confidence now, and they'll have a bigger and better squad. But teams will always cope differently with success."

It seems Armagh are still coping rather well with their success of 2002. If anything they've simply strengthened their belief that they can 'whip anybody'. And pain can be an even more powerful ally than hunger.