Eamonn Fitzmaurice has sat down with Tony Leen of the Irish Examiner for a lengthy and in-depth interview looking back on his six years in charge of Kerry. They were defined by a curious tumult - in spite of winning six Munter titles and an All-Ireland in 2014, Dublin's shadow swallowed the Kingdom.
Fitzmaurice was heavily criticised throughout his reign, and while he couldn't topple the Dubs in the championship, he is responsible for the most second-most significant defeat of Gavin's Dubs after Jim McGuinness, Kerry's best day being the 2017 National League final.
The interview runs to thousands of words and covers a host of topics in admirable depth - so get the paper and stick the kettle on.
Toward the end of the interview, Fitzmaurice reflects on the state of punditry and analysis in the GAA. He believes much of it is poor, and compares it unkindly to Gary Neville on Monday Night Football.
Amid this, Fitzmaurice picked out Pat Spillane. The Sunday Game analyst was critical of Fitzmaurice after Kerry's Super 8 exit this year, saying that "‘his decision making on the sideline was never very good. Number two, he was probably too conservative and too loyal. Rebuilding should have taken place two years ago, not this year, even though his legacy will be seven youngsters". He also criticised Fitzmaurice for supposedly lacking a gameplan when it came time to visit Croke Park.
Fitzmaurice, however, has said that he wouldn't have Spillane anywhere near a Kerry team.
Spillane had a good few pops. Look, when you have eight All-Ireland medals you can pretty much say what you want. Pat had plenty to say about players he won All-Irelands with when they were managing Kerry, so I wasn't foolish enough to think he was going to spare me.
What amuses me though is the way he will send the odd text message either preceding or following a lambasting. He reminds me a bit of Donald Trump.
He has a huge ego, he understands how the media works and he's good for a soundbite to keep himself relevant. But, personally speaking, I wouldn't have him within a million miles of a Kerry team.
Spillane has been on the end of a few verbal lashings in Kerry down the years...few have been as strong as that.
The full interview is in today's Irish Examiner.
