The extra responsibility of captaining Kerry for 2017 rests easily on Johnny Buckley's shoulders.

After a conversation with his All-Ireland Club winning Dr Crokes club-mates, it was agreed that Buckley, who lifted the Andy Merrigan Cup back on St Patrick's Day, should get the nomination to lead the Kingdom into championship battle.

"It was between a couple of the lads that won the county championship so I sat down with Fionn (Fitzgerald)," he revealed to The Irish Independent.

"Fionn had lifted Sam before, we had a chat with some of the younger lads and between the lot of us we just decided that I would do it this year.

"But when you are going in with Kerry, it is not a huge thing, because there are a lot of leadership figures around the dressing-room anyway so there are no major pressures or nothing else to it."

Buckley acknowledged that the departure of inspirational figures such as his club-mate Colm 'Gooch' Cooper, Marc O Se and Aidan O'Mahony from the Kerry dressing-room leaves a void but he also put a positive spin on their retirements.

"What it has done is that is given fellas who have been around for a few years the opportunity to step up to the plate and become that leader in the dressing-room and that leader on the field, which is a very powerful and positive thing.

"So that is what we are focusing on."

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