Ger O'Keeffe can't understand why so many Cork and Kerry supporters have become indifferent towards the Munster football final.

It used to be one of the biggest matches in the GAA calendar but the advent of the back door, which means that both teams are left standing after the final whistle, has detracted from the sense of occasion, with just 20,000 expected to attend this weekend's showdown in Pairc Ui Chaoimh.

"I know it's different from my time when it was winner-takes-all but no management or players have ever said they would prefer to go into the back door," the Kingdom legend says in The Irish Examiner.

"I don't understand why there is such apathy among the public towards the match. Killarney always gets good crowds but invariably year after year the crowds in Cork have been diminishing.

"The people who are really interested in this game will travel to it and you have to ask is it the people who just go for the occasion who will be missing on Sunday?

"I remember playing in the old Athletic Grounds in '73 when Cork scored five goals and you had to go down into the Showgrounds to tog out where the cattle were housed. It was no place for a team talk.

"I hope the designer of the new stadium will be as progressive as those were with Croke Park and consider the comforts of the players and supporters.

"One of the drawbacks regrettably from a player perspective was the size of the dressing rooms which are appalling. Neither the Cork County Board nor the Munster Council did anything about it.

"In '76, it was a state-of-the-art stadium but they've probably shown a certain level of apathy towards players in not doing anything about them.

"I hope there is a great emphasis placed on the players and that they are kept away from supporters. Coming out of dressing rooms, you'd be getting jostled and pushed. Maybe it helped the atmosphere but it wasn't ideal." Tweet

Most Read Stories