GAELIC GAMES:Kerry also confirm new conditioning coach Cian O'Neill will be one of four selectors, GAVIN CUMMISKEYreports

EAMONN FITZMAURICE’S new Kerry football management team was formally ratified for a three-year term last night.

Three of the new management quartet – Fitzmaurice, Diarmuid Murphy and Mikey Sheehy – have 15 All-Ireland medals between them but perhaps the most interesting addition to the backroom is Kildare man Dr Cian O’Neill coming in as the physical coach and, surprisingly, as the fourth selector.

O’Neill’s recent track record in Gaelic games is impressive, having overseen the Tipperary hurlers for three years under Liam Sheedy and he switches to Kerry after a hugely productive year with James Horan’s Mayo football squad.

O’Neill lectures at the University of Limerick, where he is the course director for the BSc in physical education.

At 35, Fitzmaurice is the youngest ever manager of the 36-times All-Ireland champions, which may have influenced his decision to dip back into the great 1970/’80s team by adding Mikey Sheehy to the ticket.

The 58-year-old Tralee native, regarded as one of the greatest forwards to ever play the game, having won eight All-Irelands in a career spanning 1974 to 1987, is joined as a selector by O’Neill and Murphy, the Kerry goalkeeper until 2009.

“Yeah, in fairness, he was a decent enough player, wasn’t he? He probably knows what he is talking about.” said Colm Cooper yesterday when asked about working alongside Sheehy.

“I believe Mikey is going to be involved so it will be great. On a personal level, he has been a hero; if you are a forward in Kerry he has been for all of us. He’ll bring something else to the table, he’ll be a fresh voice and a fresh face. If he can add something, it could be 5 per cent or 10 per cent.

“It will be much needed for the benchmark Donegal have set. We have a long way to go to see can we get up to that level.

“Sometimes when new people come in it freshens things up and gives fellas a new lease of life. Hopefully that will be the case.”

The arrival of such a young management team, Sheehy aside, was put to Cooper yesterday as the 29-year-old has played alongside both Fitzmaurice and Murphy.

“It seems to be going that way, with Jim [McGuinness] coming in and Eamonn is the youngest ever Kerry manager, I think. Jason Ryan who was in Wexford is a very young manager, Glenn Ryan isn’t too old so there are very young managers all over the place.

“The advantage they have is they are not too long gone from the game. In Eamonn’s case, he’s played up to this year and he knows what’s going on around the place and that might give him a little bit of an advantage.

“The game is evolving all the time and I think you have to be in touch with what’s going on, the science, nutrition and fitness has gone through the roof, really.

“I certainly don’t think GAA teams prepare as amateurs any more, there’s very much a professionalism there – and the younger managers you have to put your life on hold for things like that, and that seems to be the way it’s going.”

Cooper believes Kerry need significant improvement, without necessarily changing their traditional style of play, to reach the standards set by Donegal in 2012.

“Teams just have to lift it. I can’t speak for other teams but I know if we don’t come back and improve by 20, 25 percent we won’t be involved in the shake up next year. That’s the challenge for us and for Eamonn. To be beaten at the quarter-final stage and certain performances this year, we weren’t up to scratch. That’s an honest assessment. Whether we like it or not that’s the brass tacks of it.

“But I have no doubt it is in us. If I didn’t think it was in the team I would be more alarmed. We’ll just have to go back and regroup and see how we go about it.

“It’s not just a system or a structure Donegal are playing to, they have very good players and I sometimes think that gets lost a little bit.”

Cooper was instrumental in Dr Crokes returning to the Kerry club championship final, scoring 0-5, four from play, in Sunday’s semi-final defeat of Laune Rangers.

Crokes face Dingle in the final with the Clare champions awaiting the winner in the AIB Munster club championship.

“It would be extremely foolish for us to look beyond Dingle,” said Cooper.

“They are a very focused team. They remind me a bit of ourselves a couple of years ago in that we got to semi-finals, finals and were beaten.

“Of all the club teams in Kerry, besides ourselves, they are the team that’s coming. I only saw 10 minutes of their game yesterday and they looked very organised. I just think they feel this is their time to win a county title.”

Meanwhile, Clarecastle native Tim Howard was ratified as the Kerry hurling manager last night.

Tom O’Loughlin, another Clare man and brother of Ger, is joined in the backroom by Pádraig O’Regan and Mike Burke.