Donaghy tempted to carry on

Maurice Fitzgerald's appointment to the Kerry backroom team could persuade Kieran Donaghy to extend his inter-county career by another year.

Donaghy is in no rush to make a decision on his future and his commitment to the Tralee Warriors basketball team means it will be the New Year before he is in a position to confirm whether or not he will return to the Kerry set-up.

Should he decide to play on for another year, the former Footballer of the Year will have the opportunity to work with Fitzgerald, Kerry's new selector, and the 33-year-old admits his arrival could influence his decision.

"It would be great to be in a dressing room with him. As much as I know him and came across him over the years, and looked up to him hugely, he was my hero, but with all that, I’ve never actually been in the same dressing room," Donaghy told the Irish Examiner at the eir Sport Sports Book of the Year awards.

"I’ve heard him do one or two talks before, and I’ve been very impressed with the way he speaks. I’ve no doubt he’ll bring an awful lot to Kerry football and, whether I’m here or not, will help the forwards and help guys really, in general, all over the pitch.

"Everybody thinks he’s this kind of quiet, kind of reserved guy, but he’s actually quite funny, quite engaging and very intelligent. He is probably one of the best football brains to ever put on the Kerry jersey. The forwards have no excuse now anyway; Liam Hassett, Mikey Sheehy, and Maurice Fitz [are all in the backroom team]. If they’re not shooting the lights out, there’ll be something wrong."

Setanta Sports is now eir Sport. We have 6 great channels of live sport including eir Sport 1 & 2 and all 4 BT Sport channels. The eir Sport pack is free to all eir broadband customers. To learn more about setting sport free visit www.eir.ie/sport .