John Divilly: Kerry must make 'four or five' changes for Clones
Éamonn Fitzmaurice will have to make four or five changes and revive Kerry's running game if he is to save the Kingdom's season in Clones next Sunday, according to former Galway All-Ireland winner John Divilly.
After last Sunday's surprise defeat by Galway, a loss against Monaghan could put an end to Kerry's All-Ireland chances. Divilly isn't ready to write an obituary for their campaign yet, but says a drastic improvement will be needed.
Speaking on the Irish Examiner PaperTalk podcast, Divilly said: "Every team is entitled to a bad day. Every team has had one this year in the championship so far. That's Kerry's bad day. Can they turn it around, absolutely? But they really have to go back to basics and get their running game going.
"A lot of people were talking about weather conditions. That's no excuse. Gaelic footballers in Ireland get 300 days of rain per year. They're well used to playing in slippy conditions so that's not an excuse.
"There's a lot of questions to be answered for Kerry. And there's no doubt about it, Éamonn Fitzmaurice will have to go with a different team the next day. I think he'll have to throw in four or five subs."
While baffled by Kerry's performance, Divilly was hugely encouraging by his countymen's display.
"Galway were well structured, well up for it, went at Kerry and Kerry, surprisingly, fell apart.
"You can never question any team's hunger. They all go out to try and win a game, but Galway had a spring in their step. They started the game the way they finished against Roscommon.
"Galway were up for the battle They have shown this year that they're going to be hard to beat. If they can get enough ball, they have quality forwards up front who can do damage. They are not relying on any one player."
