O'Connor glad to have something to play for

ALLIANZ NFL DIVISION ONE:WHATEVER FEAR Jack O'Connor may be harbouring ahead of Sunday's relegation showdown against Monaghan, he's keeping it well concealed. Driving in south Kerry yesterday, having just returned from a team training holiday in Portugal, O'Connor sounded far more excited than anxious, happy that there was at least "a bit to play for".

The situation is not exactly black and white, but if Kerry or Monaghan lose in Killarney they’ll most likely be relegated. A draw might save them both, provided Dublin beat Tyrone – but points difference could yet come into play should Derry beat Galway. Either way the Kerry manager is treating it as a must-win game, and is likely to start the big guns too such as Paul Galvin and Tomás Ó Sé.

“It’s not so much a case of being worried,” said O’Connor, “but more a case of realising it is a game we need to win. We certainly don’t want to get relegated. But in many ways it’s a game we’re looking forward to. It’s akin to a championship game, really, and we’re only five weeks away from championship now. So in a way we’re going to treat this as if it was the first round of the championship, because there is a lot a stake.

“In many ways the game has panned out pretty well for us. Monaghan we know will be coming with all guns blazing. As they always do. They’ve given Kerry some very tough games over the last three or four years. There’s never been much between us, league or championship. We’re under no illusions. We know it will be very tough. All that’s great for us, and we’ll have a fair idea of where we stand after the game.

“So we’re just looking forward to it, really. It’s great to have so much at stake for the last league game, because the worst case scenario would be to have nothing to play for. I think last year we’d already qualified for the final going into the last game. So it is great to have a bit to play for. It means we have to treat the game very seriously.”

Kerry returned from their five-day excursion to Portugal on Monday, the only downside of which was an injury to David Moran (dislocated thumb), which rules him out of Sunday’s game.

With Galvin’s eight-week suspension now expired, and Ó Sé in line for his first start of the season, O’Connor may well be fielding close to his championship 15 – the one exception being Aidan O’Mahony, who is suspended from the red card received in the last round defeat to Tyrone.

“We’re okay, in pretty good shape,” declared O’Connor. “Tomás Ó Sé and Paul Galvin are back in the frame. The team isn’t picked yet, but they’re back in contention to start, yeah. So we’ve pretty much the full deck to pick from, besides one or two.”

Kerry’s training holiday was planned long before Sunday’s relegation showdown, but it will no doubt have focused the minds, along with putting some sun on the back: “Conditions were good for training,” confirmed O’Connor. “We got a nice bit of work done.

“But sometimes with these trips you can go backwards a bit for a short while, after a hard training stint like that, before you go forward. But it will be interesting to see how players react on Sunday.”

Monaghan will be close to full strength themselves, after Damien Freeman returned to training this week, having sat out the last few rounds of the league.