O'Shea: These guys owe us nothing

September 22, 2008
A deflated Pat O'Shea was quick to praise the efforts of the Kerry players over the past number of years after their three-in-a-row All-Ireland bid was ended by Tyrone. The defeat is likely to bring the curtain down on the inter-county careers of a number of the Kingdom's biggest names, but O'Shea said now was not the time for such talk. "They are not questions to be asked today. It's unfair to ask anyone those questions," the Kerry manager said. "The reality is, these boys have played in five All-Ireland finals in-a-row, nine All-Ireland semi-finals and sometimes people forget that. "These guys owe nothing to anybody, they have been fantastic ambassadors for our county and for the GAA itself. "So while we might be disappointed right now, I think we might be able to put things into context by saying they are a wonderful bunch of players." O'Shea admitted that Tommy McGuigan's goal just have half-time was the game's crucial score. "It was obviously a very tight game for long periods. The goal after half-time obviously had a big bearing on the game and we had one or two chances we didn't take. "It's been a roller-coaster year and it's over now. Tyrone have won it. It's disappointing for our players, it's disappointing for supporters. These lads have given so much over the last number of months and years, they deserve a lot of credit for what they've done." He added: "The goal was at a critical point. We were a point up at half-time and wanted to come out stronger in the second half, but unfortunately we didn't and Tyrone took the initiative. "It took us a little bit of time to get back to parity, but when we went a point clear, I thought we were going to be able to push on."

Most Read Stories