GAVIN WHITE hopes Kerry are ready for road against Armagh after breaking down in their Meath showdown.
The wheels came off in Tullamore the Saturday before last when Kingdom blew top spot in their All-Ireland group with a shock nine-point loss to the Royals.
But with star man David Clifford hitting top gear by firing 3-7 at Fitzgerald Stadium last Saturday, Jack O’Connor’s men raced past Cavan, 3-20 to 1-17, in Killarney.
Skipper White struck the post in a rip-roaring first half against the Breffni as they cruised 2-12 to 0-8 in front.
The Dr Crokes clubman admits tough questions were asked when the Kingdom convoy stalled against Meath but now all roads lead to Croke Park to face the All-Ireland champions.
White said: “We were very disappointed in the way we played against Meath. It was hard to put your finger on exactly what happened. It was a complete malfunction all over the pitch. We were disappointed with the way we performed. But the main thing is that we were still in the Championship and we still had a chance to rectify it and put on a performance to try to get the win.
“It was a mixed bag against Cavan. The main thing was that we got a result, maybe fixed a couple things from Meath and just look forward to a quarter-final now in Croke Park.
“That was the be all and end all — get to Croke Park and see how we go from there.”
Revved-up White knows Jones’ Road is where the Kingdom can truly fire.
Kerry have been able to navigate Munster without issue, the only speed bump being needing extra-time to see off Cork in the semi-final.
O’Connor’s men made sure of a provincial five in a row with victory over Clare, before romping home against Roscommon and in the Rebels rematch, which preceded the Meath mishap.
Seánie O’Shea returned from a knee problem against the Breffni and fired 0-4, which was a huge boost.
Armagh may have sent them packing in last year’s semi-finals but White hopes they can cope with Kieran McGeeney’s men this time around — especially with O’Shea back in the driver’s seat.
The 2022 All-Star full-back said: “Seánie is one of the best players in the country and a serious leader on and off the pitch.
“To have him on the pitch was a huge bonus and that showed with the performance he put in.
“Last week, he did his best when he wasn’t playing to try to motivate fellas on the line, which shows the character that he is.
“He’s a serious player for us to have on the pitch and we’re very grateful that he was able to make it back from injury.
“We’ll take the positives and look at the negatives maybe over the week.
“We’ll train during the week, try to rectify some of the mistakes we’ve made and go up to Croke Park in the best possible shape that we possibly can and have a good crack off it.”
The Kingdom may be without midfielder Diarmuid O’Connor after he suffered a recurrence of a shoulder problem against Cavan. Defender Mike Breen suffered a muscle issue before the game too.
Paul Geaney has a shoulder injury and was not risked in Killarney, while Barry Dan O’Sullivan’s campaign is over due to a torn ACL he suffered against Cork in the All-Ireland series.
White believes his team-mates are suffering because of the new rules but hopes they can recover quickly to help end a three-year wait for Sam Maguire.
He said: “I said a couple of weeks ago at the launch of the Munster Championship that the new rules were going to have a serious impact on injuries.
“We seem to be impacted an awful lot. I don’t know what other teams are like. I suppose in both games against Cork we picked up a lot of injuries.
“I think we had three substitutes in the first half in the second game. Look, it’s just the next man in.
“But Diarmuid is a big leader for us as well. If he doesn’t make it back for this weekend, he’ll certainly be a loss. But we’ll go out and try to put in a performance for him.”
