Darran O’Sullivan dismisses ‘bull ****’ rumors of Kerry revolt

Darran O’Sullivan says the rumor that the Kerry players are on the verge of a fight with boss Peter Keane is “bullshit” that came from an unsubstantiated text message “that spread all over the place.”

O’Sullivan, a four-time All-Ireland winner, attributed the Kingdom’s surprising Munster Championship loss to Cork to a “bad day at the office.”

He claimed that they “mentally showed up for a soccer game when it was always going to be a dog fight” and were outbid.

But he’s convinced it was a bouncy problem and the curse that players are on the verge of a play against manager Keane.

“I think there was a text message that spread all over the place,” O’Sullivan said at the launch of AIB’s photobook The Toughest Season.

“It’s easy to do that, I could make up a text message here now and send it to a couple of WhatsApp groups, and you’ll have it at the end of the interview. I think that’s what it was.

“I don’t know how these things started, but I’d still be in regular contact with the players and it is what it is. We don’t have anything else to talk about here, it’s not like we have matches, so we need something.” A little history.

“From what I know the players are looking forward to next year, the players are ready to play, but I hope there will be some additions to the back room team because we are just missing something.

Experienced coach Donie Buckley left Kerry’s management team last March and was not replaced.

It seems likely that Coach Keane will replace Buckley by 2021, although suggestions that the coach’s departure fueled the players’ desire for a shove against Keane – an accusation contained in the message that went viral – are unfounded.

“Initially when you hear talk of ‘discontent’ and stuff, you get disappointed because you don’t like to hear anything coming from the dressing room, but then when you start hearing the names of (players) mentioned and then when you really think about it and think about the players that get mentioned and you say, ‘No, it has to be shit because I know these players as well as anyone and it wouldn’t be their style.’

Obviously there is a bit of disappointment. I think they need to add a bit to the back room. Losing Donie was one (thing), I think there are other areas where we could maybe improve. Look, it is what it is, it was a disappointing year that promised so much, so much was expected. They have to wait for some anti-aircraft fire. “

Former forward O’Sullivan said he was actually very confident that Kerry would not only beat Cork but win the All-Ireland this winter.

“I actually thought, and it sounds stupid to say now, but I thought, ‘They seem more ready for the Championship than anyone I’ve ever seen in the other games in the League,'” said the 2009 All-Ireland winning captain.

“I honestly thought the players looked incredibly fit and strong, they seemed in tune. I was looking at the individual players and how they were bonding and I was saying, ‘Kerry is going to win this.’ I really felt that way.

“But you have a bad day, it happens, and Kerry just had a really bad day at the office. They got caught and another year you probably would have expected them to go through the back door and win All-Ireland.”

“But 2020 isn’t like that, you had a chance and I think Kerry showed up expecting a match, ready to play a soccer game, conditions didn’t allow it and it ended up being a bit of a dogfight. It was, ‘Who? are you going to take it out? ‘ Kerry, for whatever reason, was unprepared for that and got caught. “

* Darran O’Sullivan spoke at the launch of AIB’s The Toughest Season, a now-for-sale photobook that tells the story of how Gaelic Games communities came together to support one another through a very difficult year. All proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to the AIB Together Fund which supports Age NI, Alone, FoodCloud, Soar and Pieta House.