IT’s almost taken for granted that Kerry Minor teams reach the All-Ireland Minor quarter-final stage now since its introduction back in 2003.
Bar one year, 2011, they have made it here otherwise.
However, what’s probably more pronounced is that the decade ends with pretty much a complete overhaul in the county’s fortunes at Minor level.
The decade began with a worrying defeat to this weekend’s opposition in Croke Park at the same stage but now the two counties meet again with Kerry revitalised in maintaining a hold of the Tommy Markham Cup.
Current boss James Costello feels a lot of work done in the background by some of the more seasoned figures in Kerry coaching had a lot to do with the five successive All-Ireland Minor titles accrued since 2014.
The more immediate here and now sees Costello setting a target of simply trying to get to Croke Park rather than any talk about a sixth straight title.
“We just simply want to get to Croke Park at this stage and this is the challenge in front of us in Tyrone.'' he said.
“From what we have seen of them they are dogged, tough and athletic team full of running and they have inside forwards that will punish you if they get the right ball,” the St Patrick's/Blennerville clubman has noticed from his treks up north.
Since the tight finish to their Munster final encounter with Cork in Pairc Uí Chaoimh, Costello is happy with what he has seen from the panel in their County Minor Championship games in terms of how they handle the expectation placed on them by their clubs and districts.
“When they are in with us, we view them more as a collective and it is very intense in terms of the work we do,'' he stated.
“They need a release from that, and I feel going out into the County Minor Championship and taking on responsibility and expectation from their teams to perform benefits them in creating leadership.
“I would feel the best example of it was how the team responded to Cork getting the equaliser late on in the Munster final.
“Players such as Dylan Geaney stood up and took on the leadership that was needed to pull us through,” he said.
On the injury front the news is encouraging with Sean O’Brien expected to be back and fully fit for the weekend’s game while Emmet O’Shea has recovered from the ankle injury that saw him not start the Munster Final.
When asked about any pressure the players might be feeling because of the success of the last five years for Kerry Minor sides, Costello says it is very much having the opposite effect.
“Success is a source of inspiration, not pressure, I feel,” he said.
“These players have seen the success players in their own clubs have had with the other Minor teams and they want to be a part of that themselves.
“When you see them come in here and tear into each other in trying to prepare properly then you as a management team only want to do your best for them,” he said.
Having offered his view of the effect the sport itself is having on Gaelic Football at the present time prior to the Munster Final, Costello quotes a line from a famous Irish soccer ballad in talking about Kerry’s tactics for the encounter with the Red Hand County: “It’s a bit like Jack Charlton says in the song in that we want to inflict our game on the other team, get a good start to set the tone for what we do.
“This is where you would hope the experience the players have gained in high level Schools matches will stand to you.
“The players themselves know what they have to do and we hope they turn themselves inside out on the day and I think if we do enough hard work around the middle then we will stand a great chance at the end,” the St Pat's man said.
