Jim McGuinness once turned up at a Kerry senior football training session with his boots - but Páidí Ó Sé was having none of it.

In his column in The Irish Times, Darragh Ó Sé recalls the episode which, he adds, shows the type of 'driven' character that the mould-breaking 2012 All-Ireland winning manager was even in his younger years.

"I remember years ago when he was in studying in Tralee, he turned up at Kerry training one night looking to join in," Darragh writes.

"Now, if a fella ponied up at club training some evening looking to keep his hand in, you might say fair enough. Definitely if he was in decent shape and looked like the kind of fella who might do some of your running for you, you'd welcome him with open arms.

"But Kerry training? Not so fast, buddy. Páidí was over us at the time and he was nearly shocked at the notion of it. It was like, where did yer man get the balls to turn up here? And him from where? Donegal? Ah no. Funny, I always thought afterwards that McGuinness's long hair probably counted against him that night. It wouldn't have helped his cause anyway.

"Still, when you think about it, it shows the kind of fella he was, even then. He was driven, he had no inferiority complex. He didn't see barriers up ahead. It wouldn't occur to 99.9 per cent of intercounty players to even go and watch Kerry training but McGuinness just figured he'd turn up with his boots and give it a shot."

Tweet

Most Read Stories