By Cian O'Connell

Kerry's young players learned valuable lessons in the Allianz Football League according to selector Mikey Sheehy.

The Kingdom started the spring brightly before suffering some disappointing, but it was important some of the emerging talent in the county were afforded game time.

On Sunday Kerry face Clare in the Munster Senior Football Championship and Sheehy feels the youngsters will benefit from the experience acquired earlier in the year.

"It was a mixed bag, I suppose the positives to take out of it were that we used 37 players during the League and we held on to our status," is Sheehy's assessment of Kerry's League campaign.

"We made hard work if it, we were inconsistent, very much so. We played very well against Mayo above in Castlebar, played well enough in patches against Donegal, but played poorly in Croke Park, collapsed in the second half, played poorly in the last game, and poorly against Galway in Tralee. Very much a mixed bag."

Sheehy, though, is adamant that the depth of the panel is increasing with promising footballers in Kerry. "They brought a lot of energy to the squad, they are creating a lot of competition and there are a lot of the older fellas looking over their shoulders, which is a good thing for us," Sheehy admits.

Much discussion surrounds the exciting David Clifford, who is set to make his Championship debut, but Sheehy also highlights other players with significant potential.

"He’s good, David is the fella that has been spoken about, but there are other lads; Seán O’Shea has been very impressive, Micheál Burns has been very good, Jason Foley," Sheehy says.

"David is a strong lad for his age. Some people might say he is too young, but I think if you’re good enough, you’re old enough."