Jack O'Connor has dismissed suggestions that the current Kerry team's best days are behind them. Speaking ahead of today's Munster SFC semi-final replay against Cork, a defiant Kingdom boss said: "A lot of fellows are thinking this team is coming to an end - that the fire might be gone out of the belly. We think there's stuff left in the tank. This will tell us exactly where we stand and that's a great thing in the month of June." O'Connor is under no illusions about the task his side faces against a Cork team who regards as among the best in the country. "I'm not trying to flatter them or anything near it," he said. "But there could be a good case made for saying that (they are All-Ireland favourites) because they have an awful lot going for them. They have physique, fitness and they have aggression as well as a lot of running ability. "They are a serious team, and they will continue to be a serious team for a few years. "They have been knocking on the door for a good while and the fact of the matter is that they have got a good blend now with some of the older lads and the younger fellows like, Kerrigan, Goulding, Shields and Kelly. They have a good mix. They are getting the kind of a mix that Kerry had in the 1997-2000 period, coming on the back of a good run of under 21 success. They are going down the same road at the moment." The Dromid Pearses man stresses the need for Kerry to come out of the starting blocks much quicker than they did last weekend. "You wouldn't want to be giving Cork a start like that again and be hoping to reel them in. That doesn't happen very often. I suppose the redeeming feature of the game was the fact that we showed a lot of heart in the last quarter of an hour when we could easily have thrown in the towel. There was plenty fight in the bellies when we were actually taking the game to Cork." Tweet

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