WHEN the position of Kerry minor manager became vacant late last year, there really was only one man suitable for the job.

Well-versed in the tradition of Kerry football, boasting a wealth of experience at inter-county management and with three Celtic Crosses to his name, Asdee’s John Kennedy was the name at the top of the wanted list

But it wasn’t only the Kerry County Board that was coveting the former Clare senior football manager.

The cosy twosome was about to become a love triangle of sorts as the Limerick GAA hierarchy also had their sights set on Kennedy and had pinpointed him as the man to bring the glory days back that county. Decision time loomed.

What was it to be? Another crack at the inter-county scene and help the Limerick footballers shed their tag of eternal Munster bridesmaids or a chance to carve a name in his home county as the saviour of Kerry minor football?

A short-lived battle ensued, if it can even be called that, as Kennedy opted for the latter and a Kingdom rejoiced at the Asdee man’s decision.

In many ways it was a natural step for the former Kerry star. Having spent three years learning his trade in the Banner county, Kennedy acquired priceless knowledge of the workings of inter-county management. And in many ways, his apprenticeship was served.

Laden with wisdom, the former Kerry minor selector went in search of a fresh challenge as he parted company with Clare after last year’s All-Ireland championship campaign. And when a crossroad then appeared with the signs Luimneach and Ciarraí, the head and the heart both agreed that a return to his native hinterland was the natural progression for the popular Kerry man.

Having won All-Ireland football medals with Kerry in 1984, ’85 and ’86 and an All-Ireland junior medal in 1991, Kennedy’s pedigree in the green and gold is untouchable. And, having been a minor himself back in 1981, who better to end the drought that has been bestowed upon the county?

With the calendar ever moving, the new year saw the famine extend to 12 years - an unwanted blot on Kerry’s untouchable credentials and standing within the sport.

A quick recap will show that Kerry’s last successful venture into the minor grade was back in 1984 when Charlie Nelligan’s side gave the county its 11th title. Galway were the opponents that day but the talents of Jack Ferriter, Denis Dwyer and Co sparked celebrations in Kerry that September Sunday as Charlie’s cubs won 0-16 to 1-7.

Since then, it has been the proverbial case of so close yet so far.

And this minor problem has not gone unnoticed outside the county as a recent article in the Irish Exam-iner’s Arena supplement went as far to suggest that maybe the conveyor belt of talent within the county is grounding to a halt. Maybe? Possibly? Nonsense?

Whatever the answer, it all serves to the one negative master and adds to unwanted pressure as Kennedy’s two-year tenure as his term at the helm is just in its infancy. But matters like this do little to dissuade him from his new role.

Being a proud Kerry man and having spent his Kerry days playing alongside Paidí ” Sé, Pat Spillane and Eoin Liston, the Asdee native is delighted to have been reacquainted with his first love - Kerry football.

“Being involved in any Kerry team is a great honour and I consider it a tremendous privilege to be the new manager of the minors. It’s been an ambition of mine for a long time to get involved at some level in football with Kerry.

“It’s a great opportunity and I am looking forward to the challenge now,” he said.

After Kennedy had drawn the curtains on a tremendous spell with Clare, which culminated with the Munster side winning the maiden Tommy Murphy Cup in 2004, he was in the lull of a short sabbatical from the game. Then the doorbell rang twice.

The door remained shut on the Shannonsiders while Kennedy answered the call of Kerry.

“Well, I had pulled out of the Clare job - I didn’t look for another term - and I was actually linked with the Limerick job but I decided against that because I have recently started my own business and I needed to put a lot of time in to. So with all the travelling, I didn’t think I could do it,” Kennedy said.

“I think it was known that I had withdrawn from the Limerick race and I was approached by Sean Walsh who asked me would I be interested in becoming Kerry minor manager.

“I gave it a few days thought and, obviously, I was delighted to be asked. Kerry is the number one county for football and it’s a tremendous honour to be involved when you look at the names of the people who have gone before me,” the father-of-three added.

With the pleasantries out of the way, the real talk started as to how Kennedy is going to halt the present slide of Kerry’s standing within the minor game. Kennedy, who works as an electrical contractor, believes that it isn’t a case of Kerry’s standard slipping, more so that the bar has been raised. Remember Tyrone’s performance in beating Kerry in the 2004 All-Ireland minor final? Sublime.

“I think the fact that Kerry haven’t won since ’94 is a reflection on the talent that is out there at minor level maybe more so then looking at it negatively and saying that Kerry haven’t won it,” Kennedy said.

“There have been great Kerry minor teams and they have been some great individual players involved but the opposition have raised the bar. I was involved myself as a selector with Charlie Nelligan and, again with Pat O’Shea for a number of years and there were some tremendous players.

“But I think we have come up against some great minor teams, some fantastic minor teams actually - the Tyrone team in 2004, the Laois team that won the two-in-arow.

“The overall standard of minor teams has risen a lot. The preparation behind minor teams has improved a lot and there are sides now that have been training since before Christmas. There’s a huge commitment now and it’s like the seniors set-up now in many ways,” the 42-year-old added.

Another suggestion that has winged its way to Kennedy’s door is that the talent of Kerry youngsters is on the wane. Again, considering that the likes of Colm Cooper and Declan O’Sullivan, the word absurd springs to mind.

Kennedy reiterates that the talent is there but footballers these days have so many masters that it becomes tough for them

“I think the talent is there. If you look at the colleges’ side, there are enjoying great success at the moment. There is a lot of exciting talent out there but that doesn’t necessarily mean that your minors are going to be successful - you have to harness that talent.

“And then there is the commitment from guys and they are being pulled left, right and centre from different teams. There is talent out there and we have to work on that and mould them into a team,” the three times All-Ireland winner said.

Last season the Kerry minors, under the guidance of former manager Sean Geaney, were going for their fifth Munster minor championship on the bounce. But the Rebels had a different agenda as they mugged the Kingdom in a thrilling final in Pairc Ui Chaoimh last July.

As the goals for the forthcoming season will be unveiled to the play-ers at their first training session under Kennedy’s reign this week, the north Kerry man makes no secret that supremacy in their own back yard - the Munster championship - is top of the agenda.

“It’s very important in Kerry to win the Munster championship whatever the grade and that will be one of our aims for the forthcoming season,” Kennedy said.

“The fact that there is a backdoor system now - you can still be beaten in your province and go on to win an All-Ireland - makes it more difficult but the Munster title is still a coveted trophy,” Kennedy said.

“We have a two-year term and, ultimately, our aim is to bring back an All-Ireland to the county. It’s a difficult assignment but that’s our goal and that’s what we will be aiming for,” he added.

As the saying goes, a good manager is only as good as the men around him and the fact that Kennedy could pick his selectors can only help in his quest to return the glory days to the county that has amassed 33 senior All-Ireland titles.

The new batch of Kerry selectors are geographically spread over the county, covering all the main footballing sectors. An Ghaeltacht’s Liam Ó Rocháin will look after the county’s west, Dr Crokes’ Vince Cooper has been tasked with the east while Brendan Donnelly from Waterville has the south to look after.

Austin Stacks’ Paddy Crae will be casting his eye over the Tralee area while Kennedy himself will be monitoring his native north. And Kennedy is delighted with his selectors as a new chapter in Kerry football begins.

“I think it’s important at minor in particular level that you have it geographically set. That has been the system before at minor level for Kerry and it has served the county well because you have a selector in all the different areas – the north, the south, the east, the west and the Tralee area,” Kennedy said.

“They are all new selectors as well and when I has the opportunity to pick my own selectors, I decided to bring in a bit of freshness – it’s a new start really.

“It’s a new chapter for the Kerry minors and I am bringing a fresh approach as the new manager,” he said.

Still playing football for Asdee B side, Kennedy takes great satisfaction from his work as a trainer and he admits that he is a fan of the policy adopted by Kerry senior manager, Jack O’Connor, of giving the county’s younger stars a taste of the senior lifestyle, a chance to see how the big boys live.

“From my time as a minor selector before, it’s great to see players coming through – the Declan O’Sullivans, the Colm Coopers – and get into the Kerry set-up. It’s great satisfaction from seeing some players making it on the senior stage, having giving them the chance at minor level,” Kennedy said.

“I think Jack is adopting the right approach because there is a huge step up from minors to seniors but it has to be gradual.

There is the temptation with a good minor talent to put him in too soon but that can do more harm that good.

“But what Jack has done over the last number of years by bringing in guys, giving them a taste of training, having them involved, letting them see what’s required at that level. It’s a learning curve for them because they are rubbing shoulders with some household names, the likes of Seamus Moynihan, Darragh Ó Sé and Colm Cooper,” he said.

“It’s a learning process, it’s the way to go and I think Jack and his men have acted very shrewdly on what they have done,” Kennedy added. Having played with Ballylongford for many years, before returning to play for Asdee when the team reformed in 1986, Kerry football courses through Kennedy and he openly admits that one day he would like an opportunity to take charge of the county’s seniors.

But he acknowledges that he needs to walk before he runs and Kennedy knows that a successful minor campaign can only help his future in the green and gold management circles.

“There is no doubt that any fella involved in football in Kerry whether it be training a club team or what would have the ambition of training a Kerry team or managing a Kerry team,” Kennedy said.

“I think you have to start with the minors, maybe progress on and then one day, with the help of God, maybe get a chance at the seniors but that’s a long way down the road.”

“My main goal at the moment is with the minors and having silverware under your belt is great addition for any man’s curriculum vitae and hopefully we can bring silverware back within the next two years,” he added.

 

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