By Cian O’Connell

Long before the pitch invasions, cups, and chaos those deeply involved in Fossa football made some important decisions.

It was a time when promise and potential was evident so high calibre coaches were brought to the club. The Clifford brothers were beginning to emerge as serious performers, but Fossa still had to develop further at adult level.

Matt Rennie has been a key figure in the Fossa journey. “I think the club has come on leaps and bounds in the last five or 10 years,” Rennie says.

“We are not that old as a club, we are only 53 years old, relatively new. The first success we really had was when John Evans took over as a manager. Involved in getting him there was Dermot - the Cliffords, father, and Mary Talbot.

“They got Séamus Moynihan after that, then they got Adrian Sheehan in. So it has been a work in progress. We won the Novice, the level below Junior six years ago under John Evans. That kickstarted everything, it really got us going.

“The club, the way it is set up, getting management in, it is all local people, who do amazing work for the club. That is really how we have been able to improve so much.

“You have underage fellas making minor and U17 teams, stuff that didn't really happen before - the Cliffords, two Kerry seniors. You can only say the trajectory is positive for Fossa.”

Evans’ contribution, steering Fossa on the right path, isn’t forgotten by Rennie, who is busy preparing for Sunday’s AIB All-Ireland Junior Club Football decider against Tyrone’s Stewartstown Harps. “The fact that John had such a big status, coming to Fossa, who hadn't any previous success in terms of championships,” he adds.

“That was a really kind of bold statement - obviously a very good manager coming in. That did get us started. It improved the quality of the kick passing, it improved fellas mentality. It improved how you approached the game, decision making on the ball.

“Then you went on, won an actual championship, that was massive. Now six years later we are in an All-Ireland final, so you have to say looking back on it that it was a large part of the start of the success.”

Rennie, though, stresses the role played by current manager Adrian Sheehan in Fossa’s Kerry and Munster Club triumphs.

“Adrian is a fantastic manager,” Rennie says. “He took on the team three years ago, it was his first senior job. Typically he is a defensively first minded manager, probably in the past defensively is where we needed to be a little more potent and a bit more aggressive - just better in general with a bit more quality.

“He has come in, he has really changed it up. He is so dedicated, you have no idea, he is constantly trying to improve himself. He is always looking at drills - different drills he can get, he brought Eamonn Fitzmaurice in.

“He would have known Eamonn from before, that has taken us up a total other level. He has supplied a great backroom staff with selectors, who do a great job.

“It is a really, really well done, almost professional like set-up I would say. He is a fantastic manager, he has done a brilliant job. He is one of the main reasons we are in the position we are in today.”

Rennie is relishing this chapter in Fossa’s history. Significant crowds continue to flock to Fossa’s matches, the gifted Clifford brothers are an attraction, but other emerging players are also simply enjoying the experience.

“It is surreal, you get hundreds of people coming up to even you, not just the Cliffords after games, congratulating you and whatever,” he laughs.

“It is great. The more people that come to watch, the better for the club, it puts the club on the map, it is great for Kerry football, it is great for Fossa, it is great to be involved in it.” The Fossa adventure continues at Croke Park on Sunday.