DAVID CLIFFORD RECKONS Jack O’Connor’s new backroom team refreshed the Kerry camp for their 2025 All-Ireland success.
It stands to reason, then, that the recently announced Footballer of the Year can’t wait to get working with new Kingdom coach Kieran Donaghy in 2026.
“I was lucky enough to play alongside him in my first year. Then, I had him as a coach with IT Tralee,” said Clifford.
“We’re looking forward to working with him. Being a Kerryman and the career he had with Kerry, he was a massive hero for all of us as players. We’re delighted to have him on board.”
It’s the second year in a row that O’Connor has recruited an All-Ireland-winning coach from their rivals, as Donaghy’s appointment followed that of Cian O’Neill last autumn. In a backroom overhaul, Aodán MacGearailt, James Costello, and Pa McCarthy were also drafted in last year.
“It brought a great freshness to the whole thing. People couldn’t wait to get back, to hear and see what was going on at training,” said Clifford.
“What way were we going to be playing? What way were we going to be approaching the whole thing?
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“It was massively refreshing, and we were delighted to get the lads we did. We’re thankful we get to keep onto the lads we have too.
“It isn’t a slight on the previous backroom by any means because we were lucky enough to win an All-Ireland with them too.”
Clifford, a previous Footballer of the Year winner in 2022 and ‘23, believes the introduction of Gaelic football’s new rules brought greater personal enjoyment for him.
“When you see it this year, you realise you actually weren’t enjoying it as much as you thought the previous years, if that makes sense.
“When you were in amongst it in the old rules, you don’t really know any different, so you don’t think any different.
“Seeing the new rules and looking back, you’re saying this is a bit more enjoyable, definitely.
Kerry’s David Clifford up against Brendan McCole of Donegal in the All-Ireland final. Morgan Treacy / INPHO
Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO
“I’d have nothing but positive things to say. There would be something wrong if I was saying anything negative about it after the way the year went for us.
“It brought people back talking about and watching the game. It doesn’t leave a whole pile of scope for messing or delaying games or anything like that. Teams go for it. Teams have a crack off it. That is all we want to see, really, in the game.”
It wasn’t just the backroom team and rules which got reviewed after 2024. Clifford and O’Connor met over the off-season to examine how the forward could get back to his best football.
“Jack and myself sat down at the end of 2024. We laid it all out on the table, really, as to why it didn’t go well for Kerry and for me, too. I wouldn’t have had a great year for the most part.
“So, we decided a break was the best thing, but also it gave a chance for seven or eight weeks to do proper training.
“I hadn’t got much of a chance to have a pre-season or to change my body much in the past few seasons because of all the club games. That was a help.”
The gear shift between losing to Meath before sweeping through the knockout rounds made All-Ireland glory all the sweeter for Clifford.
“It has been a strange year in a sense. We thought we were going well, and we got rocked back on our heels.
“To be able to pick it back up for the final three games was special, just the way it all came together. And, definitely, personally, it was a great year, too.”
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David Clifford on Kieran Donaghy's return and enjoying football more than ever
DAVID CLIFFORD RECKONS Jack O’Connor’s new backroom team refreshed the Kerry camp for their 2025 All-Ireland success.
It stands to reason, then, that the recently announced Footballer of the Year can’t wait to get working with new Kingdom coach Kieran Donaghy in 2026.
“I was lucky enough to play alongside him in my first year. Then, I had him as a coach with IT Tralee,” said Clifford.
“We’re looking forward to working with him. Being a Kerryman and the career he had with Kerry, he was a massive hero for all of us as players. We’re delighted to have him on board.”
It’s the second year in a row that O’Connor has recruited an All-Ireland-winning coach from their rivals, as Donaghy’s appointment followed that of Cian O’Neill last autumn. In a backroom overhaul, Aodán MacGearailt, James Costello, and Pa McCarthy were also drafted in last year.
“It brought a great freshness to the whole thing. People couldn’t wait to get back, to hear and see what was going on at training,” said Clifford.
“What way were we going to be playing? What way were we going to be approaching the whole thing?
“It was massively refreshing, and we were delighted to get the lads we did. We’re thankful we get to keep onto the lads we have too.
“It isn’t a slight on the previous backroom by any means because we were lucky enough to win an All-Ireland with them too.”
Clifford, a previous Footballer of the Year winner in 2022 and ‘23, believes the introduction of Gaelic football’s new rules brought greater personal enjoyment for him.
“When you see it this year, you realise you actually weren’t enjoying it as much as you thought the previous years, if that makes sense.
“When you were in amongst it in the old rules, you don’t really know any different, so you don’t think any different.
“Seeing the new rules and looking back, you’re saying this is a bit more enjoyable, definitely.
“I’d have nothing but positive things to say. There would be something wrong if I was saying anything negative about it after the way the year went for us.
“It brought people back talking about and watching the game. It doesn’t leave a whole pile of scope for messing or delaying games or anything like that. Teams go for it. Teams have a crack off it. That is all we want to see, really, in the game.”
It wasn’t just the backroom team and rules which got reviewed after 2024. Clifford and O’Connor met over the off-season to examine how the forward could get back to his best football.
“Jack and myself sat down at the end of 2024. We laid it all out on the table, really, as to why it didn’t go well for Kerry and for me, too. I wouldn’t have had a great year for the most part.
“So, we decided a break was the best thing, but also it gave a chance for seven or eight weeks to do proper training.
“I hadn’t got much of a chance to have a pre-season or to change my body much in the past few seasons because of all the club games. That was a help.”
The gear shift between losing to Meath before sweeping through the knockout rounds made All-Ireland glory all the sweeter for Clifford.
“It has been a strange year in a sense. We thought we were going well, and we got rocked back on our heels.
“To be able to pick it back up for the final three games was special, just the way it all came together. And, definitely, personally, it was a great year, too.”
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David Clifford Footballer of the Year GAA Gaelic Football Kerry GAA