Kerry give ╙ SΘ time

Kerry football manager Pβid∅ ╙ SΘ will have plenty of time to consider his future after Sunday's drubbing by Meath in the All-Ireland semi-final. ╙ SΘ's two-year appointment has expired but he is likely to be given the go-ahead for a further tenure should he wish to continue.

Within the county, as the shock subsided, county secretary Tony O'Keeffe gave his personal reaction to the defeat. "So much depends nowadays on the mental attitude of teams and we have been going a very long time and it was inevitable fatigue would set in.

"The team started training in September 1999. On Sunday one of the players said to me, 'We've been on the go for 23 months'. And if a player has it worked out to the very month, it's probably already too late."

That lack of bite proved in stark contrast to the hunger of their opponents. The loss of appetite was very familiar to Meath as some of the victorious team explained.

"The Meath players were very gracious afterwards. They said that this sort of thing happens in football, that you can see it in players' eyes when the hunger isn't there. They experienced that last year themselves against Offaly and recognised what had happened us on Sunday."

The irony for Kerry, according to O'Keeffe, is that with the calendar year being introduced in the National Football League, the team would have got its break shortly after the All-Ireland as the club competitions in the county are on course for an early conclusion.

As to the management situation, O'Keeffe is unhurried. "We won't be looking at that for a good while. But it should be remembered that Pβid∅ ╙ SΘ has won five of the last six Munster titles, two All-Irelands and a National League."

Meanwhile, Dungannon Clarkes won the Tyrone Intermediate Championship with former Monaghan star Gerry McCarville as manager. And helping out at training last week was RT╔ pundit and ex-Meath attacker Colm O'Rourke. Dungannon defeated Fintona by 0-12 to 0-11, with Tyrone's Gerard Cavlan hitting a last-minute winning point.

Top Tyrone hurler Paul Lavery is out for the rest of the season after breaking a leg at the weekend. Lavery, top National Hurling League scorer for Tyrone for the past two seasons, suffered the injury while playing for Dungannon against Castleblayney in the Ulster Club Hurling Championship.