Colm Cooper is yet to make a firm decision on his inter-county career. You do get the impression though that we will see him in green and gold in 2017.
Cooper was speaking on Tuesday at the launch of the AIB GAA Provincial Club Championships.
Colm Cooper retirement rumours
Speculation regarding his inter-county future, especially online, has been abundant since Kerry exited the Championship to Dublin in late August. The man himself has heard varying reports regarding his intentions. Walking out of training with Dr. Crokes last week, he turned on his phone to word that he was calling it a day - that was news to him.
I heard the Friday night before the All-Ireland that I was definitely staying on. I heard last Tuesday night when I finished Crokes training that I was retired. The notifications on Twitter, there was quite a number of them.
To be honest, I haven't made any decision on it. I don't make any rash decisions anyway. When we lost to Dublin, it was a huge disappointment and I just wanted to get back into the club scene and get back playing.
I know that whenever the Crokes thing finishes up, then I need to take a look at it. The overall picture. How's the body? How's the enjoyment? How's the hunger? Then ultimately make the right decision. When you're immersed in the middle of a championship, it's hard to do that.
At the moment, Cooper is focusing his on his club game. Dr. Crokes play Kenmare District in this weekend's county championship final - their first appearance in the Kerry decider since 2013.
Gooch has had a brief chat with Eamonn Fitzmaurice since the All-Ireland semi-final but there was no 'big' conversation about his future. Any decision on whether he will retire or not will wait until Crokes' club campaign has concluded.
I've just had a chat with Eamonn over the phone. A very brief discussion a couple of weeks ago. He was just checking in to see how the body was going into the county championship matches. There was no big discussion about staying on. We kind of left it. He wanted to give me some space to go out and enjoy my county championship football.
When is that chat going to happen? Probably after the championship or whenever Crokes exit the championship. It'll certainly be in the coming weeks.
The 33-year-old says that when the day does come to retire, it will be both a 'sad' one and a 'tough' decision.
What gives hope that it will not be this year is how positively he speaks about his physical condition during this year's championship.
I took a knock on the shoulder in the Munster final, bang it off the ground and dislocated the shoulder. It was disappointing, the season had gone well for me otherwise. I played six league games, maybe more. I can't remember playing that many for a long time. I felt that I was building but unfortunately in the middle of the summer, I got caught for maybe three weeks where I wasn't able to do a whole pile.
On a whole, I was far more happy with the season just gone than the season before. I wasn't breaking down as much. I didn't have any problems. I was training really well and I enjoyed it a lot more. It didn't finish the way we wanted it to finish.
This year I was very much happy with the shape my body was in. The knee didn't react in any negative way. Those were very much a positive and the hunger was very much there as well.
If Dr. Crokes win this weekend's final and Cooper remains on with the county, there's a strong possibility that he would be nominated as Kerry captain for 2017. How could he say no to that?
Dr Crokes and Kerry star Colm Cooper was speaking at the launch of the 2016/17 AIB GAA Club Championships. This year celebrates its 25th year as proud sponsor of the GAA Club Championships.
Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
