Colm Cooper says Jack O'Connor may have used comments to motivate Kerry
Michael Bolton
Former Kerry footballer Colm Cooper says he can understand why Jack O'Connor made the comments he did before and after their win over Armagh.
After Kerry's preliminary quarter-final win over Cavan, O'Connor and David Clifford called on supporters to get behind the team in Croke Park for the quarter-final against All-Ireland champions Armagh.
Speaking after the game, Clifford said: “I’d like to call for our supporters to get behind us. I’m not sure they realise the impact they can have on us in Croke Park. When we hear that Kerry crowd behind you it’s worth five and six points to you in a game.”
Speaking ahead of the semi-final against Tyrone on Sunday, Cooper says he understands why the comments were made, especially after the semi-final defeat to Armagh last season.
"I think the crowd thing was a factor. Last year in the Armagh game, certainly from talking to some of the players and management, they felt Armagh's crowd was a big factor in extra-time and getting them over the line.
"Kerry didn't have a big crowd that day, so I wasn't surprised to see the boys calling a call to arms in terms of fans. The Kerry public responded, and they were there in big numbers."
After an impressive victory to get them into the semi-finals, O'Connor did not stop there, and responded to criticism from former players.
In the post-match press conference, O'Connor said: "Dublin got beaten by Meath in the Leinster Championship and I didn't see any ex-Dublin players coming out slating the team or slating the management like we had down south in our county."
Cooper says he felt the comments "stung", but may have been used as motivation for the squad.
"The one thing I took from it was it stung a little bit, so maybe Jack used it as a motivating tool in terms of telling the players we are being written off and people don't think we are up to it.
"We got a power house second half performance against Armagh, that was the best performance to date in the championship.
"They used it to put the fire in the belly that was needed, because a Kerry team going to Croke Park is always dangerous when they are being written off."
A second half that saw them score 14 points in as many minutes, Kerry's win over Armagh saw them as favourites by many for the All-Ireland.
However, in order to win their first All-Ireland since 2022, which was their first since 2014, they must first overcome Tyrone.
The former Kerry forward warns Kerry have now set a standard they must keep up.
"The Armagh game was an incredible 20 minutes, but they have to find that sort of level at some stage.
"The graph is rising for them now, and it will have to continue to rise for them to win the All-Ireland.
"They have to back it up, they have to show it wasn't a one off performance."