GAA: KERRY FOOTBALL:FOR A team that lost two out of their opening three games Kerry can feel a little fortunate to be still sniffing around for a place in the Allianz Football League final.

If they can beat Down in Killarney on Sunday – and Armagh manage to beat Cork in Páirc Uí Chaoimh – then Kerry will join old rivals Dublin in the final, and what a nice bonus that would be for the neutrals.

Talking to Kerry forward Declan O’Sullivan it seems Kerry are already content, and why not: manager Jack O’Connor has blooded several new players over the six rounds, and last Sunday’s comfortable win over Monaghan suggested a team once again timing their peak for the championship.

“I suppose a league final would be bonus territory at this stage,” says O’Sullivan, who only made his first start for Kerry on Sunday, having recently returned from honeymoon. “A lot of new players have seen action, so from our point of view it’s already been a successful league. If we get to a final all the better, but Cork are probably in the driving seat.”

The only minor implication of making the final, on Easter Sunday, is that the Kerry county board have pencilled in a few days warm-weather training, most likely in Portugal, over the same weekend: “Look, we’re going all out to get to a league final, try to win on Sunday and let that stuff take care of itself,” says O’Sullivan. “I’m sure the county board have some plan in place if we do get to the league final.”

Kerry have another reason for trying to win on Sunday, namely to reverse the defeat to Down in the All-Ireland quarter-final last year – although O’Sullivan obviously rejects that motivation: “Ah look, even if we won on Sunday it wouldn’t make up for last year. Any time you’re playing at a competitive level like we are you want to win games.

“We’ve been a long time around so we know that the league is only preparation for the championship. Sunday is another opportunity for fellas to show the management what they can do.

“There’s probably 30 to 35 fellas involved at the moment and it’s probably in everyone’s heads to try and make that championship 26, and obviously to try to make it as hard as possible for the management to leave them off, so I think that would be more important on Sunday, rather than making up for anything that went on in the past.”

O’Sullivan is then reminded that Kerry were without the suspended Tomás Ó Sé and Paul Galvin for the game, and perhaps that was the decisive difference. He’s not so sure.

“I think last year we just weren’t at the races, really. I think a lot of people are pointing at missing the two lads, but I think on the day we were just flat footed, caught on the hop. Maybe our preparation mightn’t have been spot on. But even as players ourselves we have to look at our own preparation, and I suppose hunger levels.

“In fairness to Down they’re a great team. They showed afterwards what a good team they are by going very close to winning the All-Ireland. They showed the freshness and hunger that’s needed to win those big games.

“It’s the biggest thing we learned; that if we’re going to be competitive this year we really need to get a good bit of youth into the panel, shake it up and become very competitive, no complacency, and I think that’s what the management have been trying to do for the league.”

Indeed with Galvin also marking his return with a good display against Monaghan it seemed Kerry would be at their strongest for some time. Yet the cruciate injury sustained by David Moran in the same game was a reminder that nothing is ever certain in sport.

“David is a huge loss, a big, strong fella who was beginning to dominate at midfield over the last couple of games as well. He’s a big character in the dressingroom as well so he’ll be missed there. Even for himself he’s devastated at the moment. You just have to look at the bigger picture. He has a great career ahead of him still.

“He’s very young and he comes from good stock as well. I’m sure after a couple of weeks he’ll knuckle down well and get on with his rehab and hopefully he’ll have plenty more years in the midfield for Kerry.

“But the cruciate injury is becoming a lot more frequent. Colm O’Neill as well was very unlucky, with Cork, a very talented footballer as well.

In the meantime O’Sullivan says his enjoying his football, perhaps more than ever, since getting married earlier in the year: “Liam Hassett told me that when he got married he started playing great football, so hopefully that’ll work for me as well.

“But I really enjoyed my break, to be honest. I suppose I spent five or six years flat out, being involved in six All-Ireland finals in a row as well. When you’re at that level it gets very intense and you become very focused.

“I suppose you can forget that you have to enjoy it.”