Team boss Paidi O Se had claimed in an RTE interview that O'Keeffe would be fulfilling his usual training role on Saturday.

However, O'Keeffe's denial of O Se's comment in a one-line statement issued to Radio Kerry on Wednesday suggests that there could indeed be a rift in the Kerry management.

"In the present circumstances, I will not be taking the Kerry team for the scheduled training session on Saturday morning," said O'Keeffe.

The trainer did not elaborate on his reasons for not taking charge of Saturday's session.

O Se apology

O Se has been fending off criticism in Kerry since describing the county's supporters as "animals" in a newspaper article.

His description of Kerry fans was embellished by an expletive while the interview also appeared to hint that he would take control of the physical training this year, a position currently held by O'Keefe.

However, O Se has insisted that he will remain on Kerry football boss.

The Kerry boss apologised for his description of the county's supporters and said his comments had been "misinterpreted".