Ian O'Riordantalks to Kerry's manager who has a formidable panel at his disposal as the county step up their championship preparations

WHEN PAT O'SHEA talks about Kerry's Division One showdown against Galway he sounds like a man with a smile in his voice. It's understandable. Even if his team lose tomorrow and therefore miss out on the final, Kerry's manager will still have got more or less everything he wanted from the National League.

He'll have used 29 different players over the course of the seven games, several of whom we have heard about for the first time, but certainly not the last. As a result, O'Shea has found himself with fresh options in practically every position. Better still, all his big names are coming back into contention for their places.

Naturally, you can't afford to be greedy with the prospect of a third successive All-Ireland coming down the line. So win or lose tomorrow, O'Shea will look back on the past couple of months with a deep sense of satisfaction. Yet the cliché of going out to win every game was founded on teams like Kerry. And this is a game Kerry themselves will want to win more than most. Galway have set the pace and standard in Division One football this year, and Kerry never like to be too far off that.

"Obviously it's quite reassuring to come as far as we have on the basis of using so many different players," says O'Shea, "and we're now going into our last game with a shot of making the final.

"Every game at this time of year is important to us, that we work on our performances coming up to the championship. And, in that regard, Sunday is a huge game for us. There are a lot of permutations that could happen, depending on the result up in Donegal. So all we can do is concentrate on our situation, and try to win in Galway. We can't look beyond that."

But O'Shea has already looked well beyond Sunday. Kerry's league campaign was always going to be about strengthening the panel ahead of the championship, particularly given the higher stakes of 2008. As several of his first-choice players were unavailable, the likes of Paul Galvin and Declan O'Sullivan (injured), Darragh Ó Sé (on a longer break) and Colm "Gooch" Cooper (on holiday), that strengthening work was largely experimental.

The result, however, has worked a treat. Just some of the exciting new contenders for starting places this summer include Rónán Ó Flatharta, Donncha Walsh and Darren O'Sullivan. Kerry's under-21s have also delivered this year under O'Shea's selector Seán Geaney, winning the Munster title, and among the seven senior panellists there are Tommy Walsh, David Moran and Killian Young, last year's young footballer of the year.

Another newcomer, Anthony Maher from Duagh, gets his first start tomorrow, while veteran Mike Frank Russell also makes his first appearance of the season.

O'Shea, in other words, has an embarrassment of riches.

"We've had the opportunity at certain times to use players who maybe wouldn't normally get the chance, some under-21 players as well. So I think we've really got to see as many players as we would have hoped, and got as much out of them.

"We've unearthed some new players that we feel can do the job for us in the championship.

"But then I was never really worried that they wouldn't perform. We're fortunate in Kerry, as everyone knows, in that we have a lot of talent, and sometimes it's just about giving this talent the opportunity to show itself. And if players do get a couple of games under their belt, then they become more comfortable when championship comes around, and we're more comfortable about maybe introducing more guys."

Last year, in his first year as manager, O'Shea used 32 different players during the league, with only seven players appearing in all seven matches. That helped unearth two new seniors in Young and Padraig Reidy. By practically repeating that turnover this year, it's likely there will be some changes to Kerry's starting 15 come the summer.

Two players absent of late - Cooper and team captain Galvin - will almost certainly walk back into the team. Cooper's two-month break in the US was fully endorsed by the manager who welcomes his return.

"He's been away for a few months, and he's clearly not match fit. He hadn't done a whole pile while he was away. . . .The holiday has really benefited him. He's got a nice spring in his step, happy to be home, and happy to have enjoyed himself away from football for a while. And now that he's home he's straight back into it.

"He's going to improve every day. We don't want to rush him, and risk any injury. We'll just build his fitness back up, give him some match practice, but it's certainly a great boost to have him back.

"Paul Galvin is not too far off now. He's making good progress, and did a full session with us there on Tuesday. And got through it fine. With Paul it's more about ensuring there is no recurrence of the hamstring injury, so we're taking things a little slower than usual. If there was the possibility of getting over this game for a league final then I think he'd be one of the players looking to get back in the frame for that. Seán O'Sullivan is another of those."

O'Shea's thoughts don't openly drift towards the All-Ireland. The prospect of playing Galway for a place in the league final is enough for now. "Galway's form hasn't surprised me," he adds. "The new manager always brings a bit of spark back, and Liam Sammon has done a great job with that. They are the form team . . . but have also played the most attractive football, putting up huge scores. They're very difficult to play in Pearse Stadium, but then they'd a good enough league run last year. Galway have always had some fantastic individuals. At the moment there all just playing excellently together.

"But it's been great for us to see as many players as possible during the league, not just to give ourselves the options for the championship, but also to increase the competitive edge in our training sessions. The fact that the under-21s have done well has been another boost, because when they come back they'll give is another edge again. But right now it's all about Galway next Sunday."

After that then, Kerry's real football season will begin.