Counihan does a Wenger

“I AM not going to do an Arsene on it,” declared Cork manager Conor Counihan, regrettably not in a French accent. “But I didn’t see it. I don’t know.”

The Cork manager was, of course, referring to the incident which saw Kerry’s Barry John Keane sent off and then, a minute later, another infringement which saw Keane’s marker, Noel O’Leary walk the line.

Like Arsene Wenger, the Cork man pleaded he was looking the other way.

“He did see it! I didn’t! I wasn’t up 4-0 today either, so I wasn’t,” he laughed, in reference to the whopping four-goal lead Arsenal enjoyed against Newcastle in the Premier League on Saturday.

“But genuinely, I didn’t see it.

I think for the referees at the minute – we had a meeting last Monday night – and it is very hard to tackle at the minute. It is very frustrating for defenders – and I emphasise that on both sides.

“Referees are there to implement the rules and are being assessed and the element of common sense doesn’t seem to be there. The question of intent is the key to me. But I do appreciate where the referees are at in this.”

Counihan’s great attribute last summer was to stay calm and focused when everyone said his Cork team was not firing on all cylinders. Now that they are champions, there is the sense he is well-placed to deal with the expectation that brings.

In a dressingroom-cum-storage cupboard that acted as a press conference room in Tralee yesterday, the Cork man was relaxed. He won’t expect the earth from his players.

Not yet.

“In general play, we weren’t as fluid as we would like to be. You always aspire for that bit more. We had some new lads out there and some of them did quite well, others didn’t do so well.

“It was a good open game, but, in championship, you wouldn’t get as much room or time and fellas mightn’t be as friendly to each other.”

Kerry manager Jack O’Connor, too, is not a man coaxed into oratorical bursts by league fare.

“Very open in the first half. Good scoring for this time of year,” he sighed in the voice of a man who has heard himself speaking these words before.

“The scoring dried up in the second half, but we fought to the end and I felt we deserved a draw. But the Cork boys nailed the frees and that was it.

“The two Geaneys did well on their National League debut. But the statistics show me that we struggled around the middle of the field and that is an area of concern. It is not just the midfield, it is the whole middle eight. You have to win the breaks and Cork dominated that a good bit. That was a factor at the end.”

The end of the first Sunday of the league, though.