Kerry star admits criticism from ex-players drove them to All-Ireland success

Irish Daily Mirror

a day ago

Kerry star Paudie Clifford has admitted that criticism from ex-players helped drive his team to All-Ireland success this season.
Clifford was at the forefront of a Kingdom side that steamrolled Donegal in the All-Ireland final last month.
And in the process, the Fossa man and his teammates felt they had proven many doubters wrong, not least ex-Kerry player Darragh O Se.
After Meath beat Kerry in the final round of the round-up series, O Se said there was an "air of inevitability" about the defeat and questioned Kingdom boss Jack O'Connor for not bedding in more young players.
But Clifford said that the hurt the Kerry team felt from such comments only helped their cause in the end.
Clifford told the Square Ball Podcast: "Obviously some of the comments that were made...one of them was to be put out of our misery.
"I know Darragh meant it to get a reaction. I'd never say anything about Darragh. Darragh is the man. He definitely got a reaction.
"I think it was just that we work so hard as a team, and the management team, and fellas have wanted to play for Kerry all their lives, to be told that we'd be put out of our misery...that's why we were so hurt about it.
"It motivates you, it motivated us. Again, we're our own biggest critics, we realised we underperformed as a team in some of the last few years.
"To only have one All-Ireland for the talent we feel we have, we fully admitted it ourselves.
"But you just use the outside noise as a motivator just to give you another edge. You know none of the comments are personal or anything like that.
"We knew that a lot of the comments were true, that we have underperformed in some bigger games and lost some games we could have won.
"You can guarantee with some of the former players, they're saying 'we'll throw the knife in here' and we'll see the boys coming back. There is nothing more dangerous than a wounded animal.
"I think it's a good thing to be honest."
Clifford previously admitted that GAA pundit Joe Brolly's claim that Kerry were a one-man team relying on Paudie's brother David struck a nerve.
In the aftermath of the final, Paudie said: "To be called a one-man team when I see some of the work that our lads put in, like Joe O'Connor, the turnovers, winning balls, scoring. Jason Foley, Brian Ó Beaglaioch, Gavin White, I'm only naming a few, I see the work that they put in every day.
"With the work we put in and the players we have there, for those things to be said, it's not nice to hear it."