Butler looks to bridge a great divide

Paudie Butler has a busy summer ahead. The new director of hurling does not begin his new role until autumn but the Kerry hurlers' progress in the Christy Ring Cup should keep him occupied.

They were well beaten by Dublin in the National Hurling League Division Two final on Sunday, with Butler equally vocal from the sideline beside manager Jerry Molyneaux. Football legends Ger Power and John O'Keeffe also lend their expertise as trainers.

Certainly, Kerry have made progress in the small-ball game, especially considering the pre-eminence of football in the county, but Sunday's contest showed they are not yet ready for the wide open spaces of Semple Stadium. The speed of the ball proved their Achilles' heel.

"They don't know the pace of the game," admitted Butler. "They are in Division Two and generally speaking only play in the winter. The also need to cover more ground. They have to learn all that but the only place to learn is on the pitch."

Even Kerry's undisputed quality hurler, Shane Brick, struggled to recover from an early shot on goal when a simple point would have sufficed.

"Shane Brick is a really good player. He made the wrong decision on the first free and spent the whole day trying to recover and it didn't work for him," said Butler. "Division One is so far ahead of Division Two that the Christy Ring is the only hope to get players up to standard. We need coaches to stay with these teams and provide a load of tuition.

"Dublin are used to Division One. They know what it is about. They know the amount of training they now have to do.

"Kerry are athletic, which is the secondary lesson to learn, but they don't understand the amount of miles that are coming. They think they can stay at their pace and be okay.

"Dublin came down from Division One and had that idea implanted in their systems that they had to run hard all day. But the Kerry players are keen and young and most importantly they want to play."

Butler will stay with Kerry for the championship before the real work begins. He admitted the task for a hurling co-ordinator is to identify like-minded people from the leading hurling counties who are willing to pass on their expertise to the lower tiers.

Butler is convinced one short-term benefit is the utilisation of players from the major hurling regions who cannot break into their own county panel - congress having passed a motion to allow each minnow county draft in five such players.

"It could benefit. There would be lads there from (places like) Cork and Limerick who might not make the first 15 but would be of benefit to the second or third tier. They should use it. I think the ambitious club hurler who can't get on to, say, the Cork 30 I think it's a chance. I think it would be ideal for them."