By Cian O'Connell

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Eamonn Fitzmaurice accepts the challenge is different.  Last year Kerry were All Ireland Champions entering every match.  Dublin eventually defeated the Kingdom in a tense September decider.

"It is probably easier this year," Fitzmaurice responds when asked how much the task is different this year compared to last.

"We have a lot to prove, myself included. I think sometime when you are the All-Ireland champions, it is a different challenge both as a manager and a player.

"We are thoroughly enjoying it so far. We had the disappointment of the League final, but that has kind of sharpened our focus again. So far this year, I would think this year has been more enjoyable."

That helped Kerry produce a satisfying performance when defeating Clare at the Munster semi-final stage.

"We were happy with the result," Fitzmaurice admits. "There was a lot of things to be happy about, there was some things to work on that we've been working on for the last number of weeks, but I think it's always just great to get the first game played to get up and running.

"Get over that break between League and Championship and just get stuck in to the nitty-gritty stuff again.

We were happy with it of course. There are aspects of it that we need to improve on for the next day. But there's nothing like having a game that puts the magnifying glass on problems.

"It gives you a chance to look at them to try to address them to try to improve. We were happy with it, I was happy with how the lads did. But the next day now will be another kettle of fish again."

Tadhg Morley's emergence is encouraging according to Fitzmaurice.  "He played U21 in 2012, he played three years U21. He was on the squad last summer.

"Now he was only in and out playing football. He wasn't a bone fide member of the squad. But he's been living and working in Dublin for the last four or five years.

"He was in college in Dublin and he's working in Dublin at the moment. So that has been a challenge for him.

"But he's a primary school teacher so he's off for the summer. Thankfully he's nearly there now.

"Yeah he's been on the radar for the last couple of years. He's been in and out. he's been around. But he's done very well with the Juniors and he's played well with the U21's as well. It's worked out better for him this year. The Dublin situation is obviously a challenge."

Fitzmaurice played when Kerry eventually defeated Limerick, managed by current Tipperary boss Liam Kearns, after a replay in 2004.

"That was a very good Limerick team so we weren’t a bit complacent. We had been on a very good run of games.

"We had won the National League, we beat Cork in the semi-final, we beat Clare in the quarter-final.

"On the day, they were better than us above in the Gaelic Grounds and we just pulled it out. To be fair, there was a lot of character in that Kerry team and we pulled out a draw.

"The second day they got a good start; we were a better team the second day. After we got over the poor start, we settled and we played a lot of good football. I don’t think there was any complacency, I just think the first day we were a bit flat and they played well.

"The lesson is you have to be at it. It is a Munster final and the first day above in Limerick we weren’t at it to the level we should have been."