Job swap GAA style
John O’Shea has been warned. Aaron Kernan has no intention of taking it easy as he hits Sunderland FC this week to try out the life of a professional footballer as part of a unique trade that will see ex-Tottenham footballer David Bentley togging out for Crossmaglen Rangers.
Kernan’s adventure is all part of a new TV show from AIB called ‘The Toughest Trade‘ which will also see Kilkenny’s Jackie Tyrrell try out life as a professional baseball player in Florida. In his place at James Stephens’, former New York Mets man Brian Schneider will sample life with the Kilkenny city club.
Speaking at today’s launch Kernan revealed that Bentley arrived from London on Monday afternoon for his first taste of life in Crossmaglen, and got straight down into it with a training session:
‘The boys were really impressed with how hard he pushed himself. Typical pre-season training, on a third-choice pitch but I think he came through it really well. I think he enjoyed it, he enjoyed the camaraderie and it was a great start for him and great excitement around town I have to say too. He’s really bought into it and he was walking around the town last night and being in Crossmaglen will be something completely different to anything he’s experienced before.’
Bentley was once one of the top English football talents but quit the game in 2014, as he believed he had fallen out of out love with football. The Englishman, who won seven caps for his country, isn’t just involved in action on the field as he’ll also be working under Kernan in his property rental business. However, the former Armagh man revealed his new employee’s first day on the job didn’t go so well,
‘Yeah, he is working for myself actually, as a property, sales and lettings management agent. Unfortunately he was late for work this morning, which probably wasn’t a surprise. He’s basically heading off for Belfast today, so basically what my day of work would have been today I just had to schedule it out for him, he has his car and he’s heading off to Belfast now to try and let a few properties.’
Bentley only has just over 48 hours to get used to life as a GAA player as he faces Silverbridge in a local derby challenge game on Wednesday night. He doesn’t have much time to nail down a regular spot in the ‘Cross side, but Kernan feels playing him close to goals will be a wise move from management :
‘I’m thinking probably corner forward maybe. I can’t see him coming in as a corner back! With his finishing in soccer I’d say he’ ll probably end up up front. He doesn’t haven’t much time to work on it but last night was a good start for him.’
Kernan travels to Sunderland on Thursday for his first taste of life as a professional footballer. He’ set to undergo a number of fitness and skills tests as well as training with some of the club’s players in sessions on the pitch. He admits that it’s a very exciting opportunity:
‘Sunderland have laid out a really good package of stuff they want me to do, fitness wise and testing and skillwise and media duties for the weekend’s Premier League game as well. It’s really to see the difference between how I see life as a GAA player and what I’m used to in GAA and what a professional sees.’
The 31-year-old was once courted by Tottenham Hotspur along with a number of other 13 year olds when he was with the Youth Academy in Dundalk but, as he says himself, ‘he’s still waiting for the call.’ Â His position is normally left back and thinks that it’s close control of a football with his feet, rather than his hands, that will pose the biggest challenge.
‘I’d say really it’s just the touch, how you control a ball  and definitely its going to be totally different to Gaelic. The ball is coming at high speed on the ground. Brian Mallon the former Armagh player reckons my second touch is going to be a tackle so we’ll see. The skill level I’ll be okay, long distance passing won’t be a worry but close in ball control might expose me a little bit.’
The current CEO of Sunderland is an Armagh woman, Mags Byrne from Dromintee, and Kernan is hopeful that will be a help as he tries to settle in. He feels that the TV show will highlight what many pundits and players have felt for a number of years about the closing gap between the level of fitness in GAA compared with that of their professional football colleagues,
‘It’s well documented how much we train and whatever and it’s something I’ve always wanted to do, to see how I would test up against a professional player . I feel we’re at an extremely high standard of fitness levels and time will tell but I might get my comeuppance this weekend.’
Kernan isn’t expecting anything easy from his time at Sunderland and as a club that have seen plenty of Irishmen through the doors in recent years he’s sure that his arrival at the Premier League club will raise the temperature on training sessions. He also issued a warning to David Bentley not to expect anything easy from Silverbridge on his debut,
‘David’s going to play tomorrow night against Silverbridge, you can be guaranteed that the lad who is marking him from Silverbridge, he’s not going to come out for a pantomime, he doesn’t want this man to come out and score 1-4 or 1-5 off him.
‘From my own point of view, Sunderland are going to want to show that we’re a professional club and it’s not easy to be a professional. That’s a challenge but it’s an exciting one because it’s an opportunity that might never come across my path again.’
AIB’s The Toughest Trade will air on TV3 on Monday March 9 at 10pm
