By Cathal Dervan

JACK O’Connor has called it a day as manager of the Kerry football team, just weeks after guiding the county to their 34th All-Ireland title.

The decision was announced by the Kerry County Board at their monthly meeting on Monday night when selectors Johnny Culloty and Ger O’Keeffe, and team trainer Pat Flanagan also stood down.

O’Connor enjoyed a phenomenal three years in charge, guiding Kerry to three All-Ireland finals and winning two of them as well as taking two National League titles.

“I feel I have enough done and my management team felt the same way when we met last Friday night,” O’Connor told the Irish Independent.

“I’m 15 years involved in preparing teams from colleges, to Kerry under 21 selector and manager, and then senior selector and manager.

“We felt we did as much as we could and it was time to go. Maybe there was that euphoria after the All-Ireland final when I might have given the idea that I was staying on. But as time moved on, I felt I had done enough.

“I suppose we could have stayed on for another couple of years, but if we weren’t as motivated as we have been, giving that ferocious commitment, then what would be the point? It would have been for the wrong reasons. We could have taken from the glory of the last few years.

“There was a lot of upheaval and a lot of criticism after the Cork defeat in the Munster final replay this year. Some of it was personal and unjust, so turning things around provided a lot of satisfaction.

“And I’d like to throw in this nugget. We won our last four games against Longford, Armagh, Cork and Mayo by an aggregate score of 36 points so we must have been doing something right.”

Eoin Bomber Liston is already the early favourite to replace O’Connor.

Hunt Incident

WATERFORD-born Reading striker Stephen Hunt has categorically denied claims by Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho that he deliberately set out to injure goalkeeper Petr Cech in their Premiership clash on Saturday.

Hunt was knocked unconscious and later needed surgery to repair a fractured skull after his early collision with the Irishman.

Chelsea boss Mourinho, who also lost sub ‘keeper Carlo Cudicini to a head injury later on, slammed the challenge and claimed, “It is one thing to break a leg or an arm, but the head is another thing all together. In terms of injuries in sport it is the one that scares you most.

“I saw both incidents on TV and they are completely different. The second was a violent fall and a free-kick against Reading.

“The first one was unbelievable. The goalkeeper has the ball in his hands, slides and the number 10 cannot get the ball. He goes with the knee into his face.

“If his head bones are not broken then he is a lucky boy. It was a very bad challenge. He was completely knocked out in the dressingroom and went to hospital. I’m not saying his intention was to send him to hospital.

“But it was a very stupid challenge -– one for the authorities to look at in the same way they looked at Ben Thatcher on Pedro Mendes.”

Hunt protested his innocence and said, “I can guarantee that I did not attempt to injure Petr, and I am very upset that the collision has resulted in such a bad injury. It was very early on in the game. I just thought I could win the ball and went in for it and our momentum took us into each other.

“I think the TV pictures show that the collision was a complete accident, and I’d like to think that my teammates and opponents throughout my career in football would say that I’m not the kind of person to deliberately hurt an opponent.

“Serious injury is the worst part of football and I feel terribly sorry for Petr. I have written to him to wish him a full recovery. Hopefully, his family and friends are with him.”

Reading officials were also quick to back Hunt by issuing a statement which rejected Mourinho’s view that the midfielder’s challenge was malicious.

Boylan’s Cuts

IRELAND’S Compromise Rule boss Sean Boylan has returned from a training camp with an extended panel in France and will now cut his squad down to 27 players for the tests against Australia in Galway and Dublin.

Boylan is expected to name Armagh’s Kieran McGeeney as his captain when he confirms the squad later this week after bringing 39 players to France.

All-Ireland final hero Kieran Donaghy was one of five Kerry players in the traveling party. Meath also had five players in Toulouse while Alan Dillon and Ger Brady were the only Mayo players selected.

Dublin’s Shane Ryan and Alan Brogan and former Kerry player Tadhg Kennelly were also included, but his fellow Aussie Rules star Setanta O hAilpin has been ruled out of the two tests by injury.

The GAA have confirmed that all 30,000 tickets for the opening game in Galway at the end of the month have sold out.

The provisional Ireland squad is: A. O’Mahoney, M. Ó Sé, P. Galvin, K. Donaghy, B. Guiney (Kerry), T. Kennelly (Sydney Swans), K. Reilly, A. Moyles, G. Geraghty, J. Sheridan, C. McCarthy (Meath), A. Quirke, G. Spillane, N. Murphy, D. O’Connor (Cork), K. McGeeney, R. Clarke, S. McDonnell (Armagh), D. Rooney, T. Kelly (Laois), C. Begley (Brisbane Lions), S. Lockhart, P. Bradley (Derry), S. Ryan, A. Brogan (Dublin), K. Fitzgerald, J. Bergin (Galway), S. Cavanagh, S. O’Neill (Tyrone), B. Coulter, M. Walsh (Down), A. Dillon, G. Brady (Mayo), P. Barden (Longford), D. Earley (Kildare), J. McCarthy (Limerick), K. Lacey (Donegal), K. Slattery (Offaly) and D. Dolan (Westmeath).

GAA Changes

THE eight lowest teams in the Allianz National Football League will only be eligible to compete in the Tommy Murphy Cup next year after changes were voted through at a Special Congress in Croke Park on Saturday, ensuring there will be one less qualifying round in the SFC next season. The provincial champion’s will enter the hat for the third round of the qualifiers.

Football Task Force chairman Pauric Duffy said, “The counties in the Tommy Murphy Cup are in Division 4 of the league. I think it will make that a much better competition and better meet the purposes for what it was originally established for.

“It means more time for the club footballer. There is a lot of work to be done yet and we have to show that we have the will to implement what we have decided. In the past, we have made these type of decisions but haven’t implemented them. This time it has to be different.”

Proposals to revert to a four-division structure in the National Leagues were also adopted but won’t come into effect until 2008.

Armagh Omissions

ARMAGH boss Joe Kernan has left the door open after omitting John and Tony McEntee and half back Aidan O’Rourke from a winter training panel.

“John and Tony McEntee haven’t said to me categorically that they are retiring. You never say never. Tony has had a lot of injuries and between them they have a lot of miles on the clock,” said Kernan.

“They’ve made the choice not to get involved at this stage themselves. Aidan O’Rourke is also out, Paul McCormack is gone and John Toal who was seriously injured last year has been released to go back and play as much club football as he can because that’s what he needs.”

Kieran McGeeney, expected to captain Ireland in the forthcoming Compromise Rules series, will return. Kernan added, “Kieran is there, I’m happy to have him. He’ll be involved with the International Rules squad for the next few weeks. We won’t be doing much over the next few months and I wouldn’t call it an official panel.”

GAA Shorts

CLARE have gone back to the future and appointed former selector Tony Considine, part of their All-Ireland winning backroom team in the 90s, as their new hurling boss in succession to Anthony Daly . . .

KILKENNY’S All-Ireland hurling final winning boss Brian Cody has yet to decide on his future with the Cats. “I have not really thought about it,” he said. “It usually takes a few weeks to sort these things out and so we will see what the future holds.” . . .

JOHN Meyler has been confirmed as the new manager of the Wexford hurlers. Former Kerry boss Meyler won an All-Ireland medal with Cork as a substitute in 1986 but is a Wexford native and also hurled at senior level with the county . . .

JUSTIN McCarthy has received the go ahead from the Waterford County Board to carry on as manager of their senior hurling team for another year . . .

GER Cunningham, Patsy Morrissey, and ex-Waterford boss Gerald McCarthy are the front runners to become the next manager of the Cork hurlers . . .

KILKENNY defender JJ Delaney has been told that the knee injury which kept him out of the All-Ireland final win over Cork is not as bad as first feared.

Soccer Shorts

CELTIC and Ireland winger Aiden McGeady has been named Scotland’s Young Player of the Month award for the second successive occasion while Gordon Strachan picked up the Manager of the Month award for September . . .

BOBBY Robson handed Stephen Staunton another boost after a difficult week when he declared, “I’m ready to go back to work for Ireland.” Robson has made it clear that wants to see out his contract as international football consultant to Staunton and the FAI. “The doctors have spoken to Bobby and told him that there is no reason why he can’t go back to work and soon,” revealed a source close to Robson . . .

NEWCASTLE and Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given is on course for a swift return to first team action after his horrific stomach injury at West Ham. Geordie boss Glenn Roeder said, “There’s a good chance that at the start of the week after next Shay could be back in full training . . .

RORY Delap has left Sunderland in a loan move to Stoke City and wants to make the move permanent as Roy Keane wields the axe after a crushing 4-1 defeat at Preston on Saturday.