Forward-thinking Aaron aims to break shackles

The disappointment of last year’s defeat to Wexford is best forgotten. Aaron Kernan has moved on and is looking forward to a bright, new attacking Armagh. Paddy Heaney writes...

Sometimes one man is tailor-made for a certain role. And, for the purposes of this particular interview, there was one outstanding candidate.
Consider the brief. After winning last year’s Ulster Championship, Armagh’s season ended in anguish when they lost to Wexford in the All-Ireland quarter-final. It was a major anti-climax. But if that wasn’t bad enough, the agony was compounded when arch-rivals Tyrone came out of nowhere to collect their third All-Ireland title.
Naturally enough, Armagh’s failure and Tyrone’s success has led to some frenzied discussion and debate around the Orchard County. There is a broad consensus of opinion that the gameplan was too conservative and that a new approach was required.
So, what is to be done in 2009? Was the criticism of last year valid? Do Armagh need to adapt their style? Are they capable of playing all-out attacking football?
Good questions. But first we have to find a footballer who was willing to answer them in the unrestrained style that’s required of Armagh in the year ahead.
Step forward Aaron Kernan.
Although unfailingly polite, Kernan has no time for ambiguity. A 12-months-of-the-year club and county footballer, he fully appreciates the mood in the county and the challenge facing his team-mates.

Neatly summing up last season, he said: “We blew it against Wexford. We got through the Ulster Championship without playing that exceptionally well.
“We had just been doing enough. Against Wexford, it looked like another game where we were just doing enough, but then we conceded that sucker goal and there was no time to recover.
“They tacked on a few points. It was a very frustrating defeat for us all because there was no stage when we opened up and really went for it.”
The bulk of Armagh’s problems stems from the formation they employ.
For instance, against Wexford they deployed Ronan Clarke and Steven McDonnell in the full-forward line. Slightly further up the field, Stephen Kernan and Brian Mallon were meant to act as playmakers and provide support to the twin strike force. The other two forwards, Charlie Vernon and Martin O’Rourke, operated around the midfield diamond, foraging for breaking ball, and tracking back into the defence.
Truth be told, plenty of other teams use a similar system. Therefore, why do Clarke and McDonnell seem to be so isolated up front? Why do Armagh look so one-dimensional when going forward?
Interestingly, Kernan contradicted the prevailing notion that the Armagh players were simply following the instruction of manager, Peter McDonnell.
“Maybe we didn’t carry out the game plan the way that the manager hoped we would,” he said, suggesting that the players must bear some culpability for their safety-first football.
The Crossmaglen man also has his own ideas about where it all went wrong for his team in 2008. He believes that neighbours, Tyrone, can provide some pointers as to how Armagh must proceed this season.
“We need to go for it more. The role of the two men on the wings (Charlie Vernon and Martin O’Rourke) is to track back, but they are primarily forwards and they are there to score and support the other forwards.
“Maybe, we in the defence, we are asking for too much cover. But there is no call for it.
“It’s something we can improve on. People say that Tyrone play this blanket defence. But at no stage will you ever look down the pitch and see Brian Dooher waiting on the play to come back into this defence. He will track his man into the defence.
“But you would never see him standing back there doing nothing.
“Brian gets back and makes his tackles but he also get forward and kicks inspirational points from play.
“We maybe got into the habit of covering too much when there is no call for it.
“We should have enough faith in each other as individuals to go out and do our own job.”
Kernan also agreed that Armagh are probably better equipped than any other team in Ireland to go man-for-man in defence.
In Andy Mallon, Francie Bellew, Brendan Donaghy, Enda McNulty and Ciaran McKeever, Peter McDonnell had a supply of quality man-markers that easily outstripped the defensive options on offer to other managers.
“Just look at Kerry,’’ he said. “Like us, they play two men up front.
“But when Donaghy and Cooper are up there, you don’t see two or three Kerry men sitting in front of their full-back line.”
The Armagh supporters who are hoping that their team will adopt the ethos that attack is the best form of defence will welcome Kernan’s comments.
He is reflecting a belief that resides both inside and outside the county.
Having already collected four Ulster Championship medals with Armagh, there is now only one honour that holds real attraction for Kernan.
“Since 2002, we have won five Ulster titles, but we still haven’t got another All-Ireland.
“People maybe thought that Armagh were defensive when they won the All-Ireland, but they still scored a goal and 12 points in the final, which is good scoring.
“Since then, I think we have been too defensive.
“Given that we haven’t won another All-Ireland I think the time has come to just go for it.
“We need to throw off the shackles and go for it. At this stage all everyone really wants is another All-Ireland.”
And as Kernan readily accepted, Armagh don’t have to look very far to find a team that has succeeded in rebranding their style of play.
“All you have to do is look at Tyrone and how well they have evolved since 2003,” he said.
“In 2003, people would have said that they were a defensive team. But in 2005, they gave one of the greatest attacking displays ever seen in an All-Ireland final.
“They followed that up in 2008 with a totally different forward line yet they still went out and racked up a good score by playing open football.
“I would like to see us opening up and going for it a bit more.”
Kernan’s vision creates an attractive proposition. An attacking half-back line of himself, O’Rourke and McKeever. The midfield department could see bursting runs from the young legs of James Lavery, David McKenna or Charlie Vernon.
Up front, Clarke and McDonnell could be part of a scoring forward line that also utilises the likes of Brian Mallon, Stephen Kernan and Ryan Henderson.
They could take a lot of stopping.

2009 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
Ulster SFC quarter-final (Healy Park, Omagh):
Tyrone v Armagh (May 31)
Winners to play Derry or Monaghan in the semi-final