Former Kerry captain Darran O’Sullivan on the differences he sees with the Kingdom in 2020, their transitional play, Cian O’Neill with Cork, the recent “walkover” wins against the Rebels, and why Dublin don’t look the same.
Darran O’Sullivan insists he is “far less wary” of the clash with Cork after seeing Kerry’s form in the league.
The Kingdom finished top of Division One with recent wins over Monaghan and Donegal, with the Glenbeigh-Glencar man impressed by the displays of Peter Keane’s side.
The Rebels have not beaten the Kingdom in championship football since the Munster semi-final of 2012, with O’Sullivan feeling “it’s been a walkover” in many of the years since.
In 2019, Cork seemed to have turned a corner, and scored three goals as Kerry just about edged their provincial clash.
Despite Ronan McCarthy’s man gaining promotion from Division Three in convincing fashion, the 2009 All-Ireland winning captain is confident going into Sunday’s bout.
“I’m less worried,” says O’Sullivan. “I do think Cork are coming but from what I’ve seen from Kerry, I can’t see them losing.
“They look tuned in, they look ready. They look more ready than most of the teams in terms of pace and power.”
Perhaps the biggest issues for Keane, based on what the Glenbeigh-Glencar man has seen, will be deciding on who to omit from his side.
Tony Brosnan has been in exceptional form, scoring 0-6 (0-5 from play) in the league-winning clash with Donegal, and has put his hand up for an inside forward position where David Clifford, Paul Geaney, James O’Donoghue and Dara Moynihan are also in contention.
O’Sullivan makes his attacking selection in our exclusive interview, and also talks of how the gap to five-in-a-row winning Dublin may have narrowed.
“Over the last couple of years, I certainly felt that Dublin were not getting better, but no other team was improving quick enough.
“You’re not going to get better when Bernard Brogan is getting less game time and Paul Flynn and Diarmuid Connolly leave the panel.
“When you’re at the top for so long, you can’t stay straight all the time,” he adds. “You have to go off the course a small bit.”
O’Sullivan also speaks about Cian O’Neill joining the Cork backroom team, and their imperfect relationship when the Kildare native was involved with the Kingdom.
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