ONE thing is for sure: Tomas O Se will NEVER manage Cork. You can take that to the bank.
Will he manage the Kerry seniors one day? Maybe.
He is the Kingdom U20 manager but he doesn’t see his first posting on the inter-county road as preparation for his county’s top job.
For now he wants to do his best and, as always in Kerry, that means aiming to beat the rest and bring the Clarke Cup to the county for the first time since 2008 and also bringing through players from the minor team to the senior ranks.
“Your job is to win an All-Ireland,” said Ventry native O Se, who now lives across the county line in Glanmire and teaches in Fermoy.
“I suppose there is no job description as such, but I know the senior team would want the flow. “When we were playing, there was a dearth of success at minor level but there were always players popping up along the way.
“So, success is great and all that, but I suppose ultimately you are there to bring on players ready for senior football.”
O Se was in the frame to take over as Offaly senior manager for this season but work commitments meant he had to turn down the opportunity. Liam Kearns, who sadly passed away last weekend, was appointed instead and O Se was then unexpectedly approached to take the reins of the Kerry U20 side.
“I didn’t see the 20s’ job coming,” he admitted.
“I showed an interest in it a few years ago and nothing came of it and as a result I didn’t even make a call or anything. I wouldn’t even think (of the Kerry senior job) it’s daunting, the pressure.
“Paidi (O Se) was dead right years ago, Jack O’Connor had one blip up against Mayo and I won’t call it abuse but the pressure came straight, boom, and you’d see it because you are in the environment inside.
“It’s a tough gig. Jack is around the place long enough and he’s the right man to be in charge there, but in terms of me I wouldn’t even have the right to think about it.
“You’d always dream of playing for Kerry or whatnot and dream stupid dreams all the time, but in no way would I have ever given any serious thought to it, there isn’t a plan here, there isn’t. I’m just trying to do what I’m doing at the moment and see where it takes the Kerry 20s.”
Kerry were semi-finalists in last year’s All-Ireland U20 championship. The Kingdom beat Cork to win the Munster title but then ran into a Ruairi Canavan inspired Tyrone side in the last four and lost by two points.
This year Kerry begin their campaign in Munster against Clare and O Se insists he will not be looking past the Banner county. If Kerry get beyond Clare then he rates Cork as serious as potent rivals for the provincial crown.
“There are plenty of teams around the country like Kildare, Tyrone played outstanding stuff last year and they will be strong again this year,” he said.
“Galway are strong too. You look at our own province and see Cork are very strong. Whatever it is at underage level Cork do not, I won’t say fear, I don’t think Cork fear (Kerry) but there isn’t a mental block at underage level with them and they know that as well.
“And that confidence means something when you are playing Kerry so that mental block isn’t there so that will be a challenge in itself for us then. But I’m not even talking about Cork I’d be looking at Clare, they are our sole focus for April 17 and that’s what we’re looking at and it comes fast and heavy after that.”
The U20 championship is a straight knockout system which is all well and good for excitement levels but in terms of player-development, O Se believes it should be a longer format.
“Have we good players? We have good, solid players,” he said.
“No superstars but we have good, solid players and I think the way football has changed in the last 10-15 years, a good team can be beaten by a team with less talent because of the way they set up. “You take all that into account and you set out your stall and you go with a plan and you see where you land with that.
“It is a good championship, I be giving out about the fact that it should have a backdoor, I think it should be longer but man it’s pure knockout! Every week you go and it’s the ultimate, ultimate championship, it’s the only knockout championship that we have in the calendar.”
