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29th July 2025
03:51pm BST
Ahead of Kerry's hammering of Armagh in the All-Ireland quarter-final, Joe Brolly wrote that David Clifford was "the only Kerry footballer worthy of the name."
After that game, manager Jack O'Connor hit back, saying: "One of the great motivators in life is trying to prove people wrong. We were being portrayed as a one-man team.
"I saw somebody writing this morning that said the only Kerry player worthy of being called a Kerry player was David Clifford.
"Now, David is a great player but David will tell you that there was a fair supporting cast there today."
Despite proving the critics wrong once again in their dismantling of Tyrone in the semi-final, where Joe O'Connor won POTM ahead of Clifford, the 'one-man-team' opinions were clearly still a motivator for the Kingdom heading into Sunday's final.
In his post-match interview, a bullish Paudie Clifford said: "To be called a one-man team then, it’s nearly like it’s disrespectful. It’s kind of personal. I suppose that’s the angle we were coming from.
"To be called a one-man team when I see myself some of the work that our lads put in...like Joe O’Connor, the turnovers, winning balls, scoring. Jason Foley, Brian Ó Beaglaioch, Gavin White, I’m only naming a few, I see the work that they put in every day.
"With the work we put in and the players we have there, for those things to be said, it’s not nice to hear it."
On his Free State podcast, Brolly was asked about this indirect call out, before responding in classic fashion.
He succinctly said: "I don't give a fuck about that!
"You have to understand...it's the entertainment value, it's the conversation."
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