Aidan O'Mahony has warned Jack O’Connor that the Kildare crowd won’t be “too kind” to him on Sunday.
O’Connor’s third stint as Kerry manager begins in earnest with a trip to Newbridge to face opposition that he managed last year and while he insisted that there was nothing untoward about the circumstances of his departure before taking up the Kingdom job, the locals may not see it that way.
O’Mahony won All-Irelands under O’Connor in 2004, ‘06 and ‘09 and said: “It’s like when a manager moves from one club to another in the Premier League. You’re never forgiven once you move.
“When there’s a breakdown and you leave, it’s never going to end well. As for the welcome he gets from them this weekend, I’m not sure they’ll be too kind to him.
“There won’t be much shadow boxing on the sideline between the management and backroom teams of Kerry and Kildare either.
“There will be a lot of bite in this game on Sunday with Jack returning to his old hunting ground of Kildare as Kerry’s manager, and it’s a mouth-watering one for the first game of the year.
“There’s going to be massive talk about it, but Jack doesn’t pay any heed to outside voices.
“It’s just the beauty of the draw the way it worked out that the new manager of Kerry is now the ex-manager of Kildare and he’s travelling to Kildare to face them in his first match – you couldn’t ask for a better backdrop to Sunday’s game,” said the Paddy Power ambassador.
Kerry were favourites to bridge the gap to their previous All-Ireland in 2014 last year but fell short in the semi-final against eventual champions, with manager Peter Keane ultimately paying the price.
They’ve already romped to the McGrath Cup under O’Connor this month but, while O’Mahony fancied them in the League, ending the eight-year “famine” is all that counts.
He added: “I think Kerry are in a great place now, and they’ve gone full strength from the start of the season.
“You can talk all you like about the McGrath Cup and the League, but it’s all about the Championship in Kerry and the players know it. There’s been a bit of a famine since 2014. The pressure is on Kerry this year and Jack knows it too.
“He will use the League to blood players. If they get the jersey, it’s up to them to keep it for the rest of the year. It’s great for any team that when a new manager comes in, there’s new ideas and it gives players who weren’t starting last year some hope.
“But if I was looking for a League winner, I’d look at Kerry as the team to beat and Mayo as a close second.”
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts
