Former Kerry captain and 1997 All-Ireland winner Billy O’Shea has lambasted the Kingdom following their shock nine-point defeat to Meath.

The Laune Rangers clubman described the performance in Tullamore as ‘rubbish’, saying it was almost as bad as the Kingdom’s 15-point hammering at the hands of the same opponents in the 2001 All-Ireland SFC semi-final.

“That is the second worst performance Kerry have produced in my lifetime, the first being 2001 when we lost to the same opposition by 15 points as you can recall,” O’Shea blasted on Radio Kerry.

“Everybody associated with the team that day will probably tell you that it was the most lonesome, embarrassing, all those horrible words associated with defeat that they would have experienced and I'm sure the players today will probably be feeling the same. It was a game that just didn't happen for Kerry.”

He added: “We were lacking the same passion, the same heart, the same hunger [as Meath]. We won nothing around the middle of the field bar one kickout that Joe O'Connor got on the 60th minute. The only ball we won in the whole of the afternoon here in Tullamore. It's hugely disappointing.

“I would normally be a bit conservative because I respect anybody who puts on the green and gold, and I know the commitments that players make and the sacrifices that players make.

“But a lot of what we saw today was rubbish. It's time to call a spade a spade. We lacked an awful lot of passion. Turnover, soft turnovers. We had no bit of direction. We had no game plan. Towards the end of that game, they were dictating things exactly like they did in 2001.”

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