“I feared I might not play at all this year” – James O’Donoghue on the struggle of a Kerry player

When Colm Cooper is sitting on the bench, what can you really rely on?

James O'Donoghue admits that he worried he wouldn't be playing for Kerry this summer after a hip injury looked to have finished him off for the season. The 2014 Footballer of the Year was out for seven months and, even still, he says he "died a death" in the first game against Cork in the Munster final. But the Kingdom's sharpshooter has timed his run to perfection and, as Kerry prepare for the All-Ireland series at Croke Park, O'Donoghue is back firing. "There was a little period back in the spring when I feared I might not play at all this year," the corner forward is quoted in the Sunday World. "In my first championship match this year against Tipperary, I was way off the pace. In the draw with Cork, I felt good in the first half and then died a death physically in the second period. "For the replay with Cork, I felt right physically but the football still hadn't quite come around. I hope it is all okay against Kildare, the next step is to put everything together and Croke Park is the place to do that." Of course, living in Kerry, you're never far away from an opinion but O'Donoghue loves the fact that the public breathe football. In fact, it has helped him through. "If you are playing poorly, the supporters will say it to you," he said. "Not in a critical or aggressive manner, but in a way that might help you get better or boost your confidence. They do look after their players in Kerry." And every little helps when you're involved in a cut-throat panel. Kerry have often found more competition in training than they have on game day but it is a factor that has never let any of the players let up. Not even a Footballer of the Year. "You are fighting with your buddies to get on the team and then fighting with them to stay on the team. Every one of us is living and dying by what we do on the training field and that's the way it is." And Mick O'Dwyer himself wouldn't tell you any differently. It's a way of life in Kerry.