Kerry manager Tom Howard is adamant that a win against Derry on Saturday is essential.

The format of the Christy Ring Cup means that the winners of the first round play each other, with the winners of these matches going through to the semi final on their grounds, while the losers head for the quarterfinals.

Howard is determined to take the shorter route to the final and feels that it is very important to have a home game in the semi final.

They will be favourites to see off the challenge of Derry at Tralee this weekend, but Howard stressed to the Kerryman that they had to make sure of the right result.

"It's everything to play for," said Howard. "It'd be a serious advantage to have in a semi final, to go out in front of your home crowd.

"If we get a victory on Saturday and get a reasonable turn out you'd imagine for the semi final of the Christy Ring we'd get an even bigger crowd. It's a huge thing to play for on Saturday." Tweet

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