GAELIC GAMES:The buoyant aftermath of an All-Ireland victory seems a strange time to be asking Pat O'Shea about his future as Kerry football manager, Ian O'Riordanreports.

In most circumstances that future is predictably written as "yes, staying on", especially given O'Shea's rich and intuitive influence on the team - exemplified by Sunday's glorious win over Cork - during his first year in charge.

O'Shea's circumstances, however, are different, and having been given a one-year term specifically to see how well he could handle his dual role as Kerry manager and Games Officer with the Munster Council, some further negotiation is necessary.

Yet Kerry county chairman Seán Walsh is confident O'Shea will continue for at least another year. O'Shea is clearly keen for it.

"Well, after working with the lads for the last 12 months, all I can say is that they're a fantastic bunch of players," said O'Shea, just prior to Kerry's homecoming journey. "It's a great county, and I would never turn down the opportunity if I was ever asked again."

Does that mean he wants to stay on?

"I think so.

"But in fairness, I spoke to the Munster Council at the start of year, and we agreed to go for one year, and see how it went. I said to myself at that stage that it might suit all parties at the end of it to move different ways. So we'll have to reflect now, and speak to my family, the county board and obviously the Munster Council, and hopefully we'll make the right decision."

In fact, O'Shea juggled three jobs for most of last year, as he also managed Dr Crokes all the way to the All-Ireland club football final, which they lost to Crossmaglen after a replay. That defeat was the only low in a year of highs, and Walsh is understandably determined to keep O'Shea on board.

"Last year Pat O'Shea got permission to train the Kerry team, on the understanding that it would be looked at after the year, and how his job worked with the Munster Council," explained Walsh. "The way I see it, Pat O'Shea did an excellent job with the Munster Council during the year, and the same with Kerry. He has done both jobs very well. I wouldn't see any problem with his Munster Council and Kerry role in the future, and we would be looking to reappoint Pat O'Shea, for another term as Kerry manager. And we will be meeting shortly on that matter.

"But to be fair to everyone involved, we have to go back to the Munster Council, put the cards on the table. And all this will happen in the short term. But I made it very clear from the outset that I wanted one man to train the Kerry team, knowing him over a long number of years, and that was Pat O'Shea. I knew his ability to coach and train people, and was also the right calibre of person to follow in the footsteps of Jack O'Connor.

"Everybody is Kerry is proud of Pat O'Shea and what the team achieved yesterday, and the way he spoke before and after the match. He's a very dignified person, and carries the mantle of Kerry manager exceptionally well."

O'Shea was again full of dignity in the All-Ireland aftermath, and rather than gloating following their blitzing of old rivals Cork, his thoughts were on the young patients he had just met at the Children's Hospital in Crumlin during a brief visit with the Sam Maguire and some of the Kerry stars.

"That really put it in perspective," he said. "And the Gooch (Colm Cooper) was there, after maybe half an hour's sleep last night, because he wanted to be, and gave his boots from Sunday's game to a young patient from Castleisland.

"We speak all the time in dressingrooms about life and death situations, and the implications of winning and losing big games. But there's always that tinge of reality. We play a game, and sport, to make us smile, and takes us away from our mundane lives for a bit of the week. You hope to perform and do your best, but you still have to get up on a Monday morning, get the kids ready for school, and do the things that keep your life going."

Of course he wouldn't admit it, but in helping deliver a 35th All-Ireland title to Kerry, O'Shea has made those Monday mornings a little easier for Kerry folk, at least for the next year.

Gaelic Games: page 5