Kerry great Colm Cooper says a David Clifford “in full flow” is probably as good as any footballer the Kingdom has ever had in its rich history.

The Munster champions face Tyrone at Croke Park tomorrow (5pm) looking to reach their third All-Ireland SFC final in four years and will be keen to repeat their remarkable second-half performance which dethroned Armagh of the Sam Maguire Cup two weeks ago.

Clifford was central in that eight-point victory and, speaking at the AIB launch event for the All-Ireland semi-finals this week, one of the game’s all-time great forwards Cooper gave high praise to his fellow Kerry man.

“David in full flow is probably as good as any player that we’ve had in Kerry. We’re very lucky to have him. The most important thing is that we keep him healthy. But you’re right, he’s revitalised this year. He’s hungry,” Cooper stated.

“He’s hungry, he’s got his bounce back. I think he found last year, maybe 18 months, a bit difficult in terms of maybe mental fatigue more than anything else. But he’s back in great physical shape and you can see from the images, he’s really enjoying the game again. The hunger is back.

“‘Look, I think it’s probably unfair to be putting him into any category of where he sits at the moment. Maybe ask that question when he’s coming at the end of his career and he’ll probably be high on every list.”

On Jack O’Connor’s side’s form coming into the showdown with Tyrone, the five-time All-Ireland winner added: ‘Despite all the injuries, they’ve overcome and they’ve found their form and we’re hoping that they’re beginning to peak at the right time in Croke Park. And that’s certainly something that the Kerry public are hoping for. And what we’re hoping also is that that performance against Armagh in the second half will give the team great confidence in terms of, okay, we found our mojo, we’re back and we’re coming right at the right time.”

Tweet

Most Read Stories