O'Connor Says Joe Brolly Criticism Gave Kerry Extra Motivation In Armagh Rout

Kerry put in a performance worthy of the county's golden years at Croke Park on Sunday, kicking 32 points while dethroning All-Ireland champions Armagh.

Jack O'Connor's men - inspired by a revived Seanie O'Shea - rattled off 14 consecutive points in a ridiculous third quarter performance that put the game out of reach. There had been rumblings of a huge Kerry performance coming in the build-up to the game but there was great anxiety too amongst Kerry fans.

On RTÉ Radio 1 commentary yesterday, Pauric Lodge noted a funereal atmosphere amongst the Kerry press pack ahead of the game.

That famous Kerry cockiness had dissipated in the wake of the resounding defeat to Meath in Tullamore a few weeks back, and losses to Armagh and Dublin at Croke Park in consecutive years.

Plenty of column inches had been used subsequently to probe Kerry's malaise, both from within and outside the county.

Darragh Ó Sé's Irish Times column after the Meath loss - which featured strong criticism of O'Connor - was particularly inflammatory.

However it seems that a Joe Brolly column at the weekend struck a nerve with O'Connor.

Brolly had a provocative column recounting a recent trip to Cromane in yesterday's Sunday Independent where he investigated the Kerry psyche, and the county's ruthless appetite for success.

The piece was full of praise for David Clifford and ended by saying the Fossa man is "the only Kerry footballer worthy of the name."

He also quoted a text he'd received from unnamed Kerry great, who outrightly dismissed Kerry's chances against Armagh.

We only have two forwards and one of them isn’t starting. We have fix or six players who aren’t even good club players for f**k sake. The bench is a joke.”

By 6pm, Kerry had proved Brolly - and the county's critics at home - badly wrong.

That criticism had clearly stung Jack O'Connor, who had strong words for Kerry's critics and doubters after the game in his post-match interview.

He didn't mention Brolly by name but he referenced his column.

"One of the great motivators in life is trying to prove people wrong. We were being portrayed as a one-man team.

"I saw somebody writing this morning that said the only Kerry player worthy of being called a Kerry player was David Clifford.

"Now, David is a great player but David will tell you that there was a fair supporting cast there today.

"We think we have a lot of good footballers but I think sometimes we're being judged on different criteria to other teams.

"For example, Dublin got beaten by Meath in the Leinster Championship and I didn't see any ex-Dublin players coming out slating the team or sleating the management like we had down south in our county.

"There's a sense of commitment to the team and a sense of loyalty to the team.

"Unfortunately a few pundits down our way let themselves down in that regard.

Brolly's comments were widely shared amongst Kerry fans on Twitter.

It's not the first time Brolly has provided Kerry with some extra motivation, and we imagine it won't be the last time.

It'll be fascinating to see how they find that extra 1% of motivation when they meet old rivals Tyrone in two weeks.