O'Connor voices Kerry energy and attitude concerns

While a 15-point win in the All-Ireland series cannot be sniffed at, Kerry are fully aware there is significant room for improvement if they are to wrestle Sam Maguire out of the capital.

The Kingdom eased to a comprehensive victory over Meath in Navan, but for large parts of the game looked rather lethargic, struggling to find a flow to their attacking play.

The visitors led by five before David Clifford found the back of the net with 20 minutes to go to break any lingering Meath resistance and eased home from there.

Speaking to RTÉ Sport afterwards, manager Jack O'Connor conceded that his team will need to up the gears as they move towards the business end of the championship.

"The lads achieved the desirable result in the end, but plenty to improve upon," he said.

"It was a tough wind to kick into in the first half and Meath were getting a lot of bodies behind the ball.

"It was our backs that were getting more opportunities to take shots than the forwards, but that’s alright, we don’t mind who scores.

"I thought there were times when we showed a lack of energy and attitude, and we will have to improve in both areas for two weeks’ time."

His Meath counterpart felt that while the 0-10 to 0-03 half-time scoreline didn’t make for great viewing from a Royal perspective, there was much to admire from his callow side.

While both sides created 14 scoring opportunities, it was Kerry that were a more slick outfit in front of the posts.

"We won’t fault the effort of our lads," he said. "We’re a bit behind in age for one thing, experience, and playing at this level against a class, hardened outfit.

"We have a young, raw inexperienced side that are going to take several years to develop."

Meath will play a Monaghan in a fortnight knowing they