First it was Tomas O Se and Colm Cooper, now it’s Aidan O’Mahony.

Kerry boss Jack O’Connor is certainly emphasising that past performances count for little in terms of current selection.

O’Mahony has been a fixture in the Kingdom line-up for years but, in common with full-back Tom O’Sullivan, has been off-key of late.

He is axed for Monday’s All Ireland quarter-final against Dublin, just as O’Se and Cooper were not in the starting line-up that faced Antrim.

A matter of weeks ago it would have been deemed unthinkable that such household names would have been axed by the Kingdom.

Killian Young, whose influence has been missed in the Kerry side, returns at wing-back alongside veteran Mike McCarthy while Tomas |O Se also starts again.

Ironically, McCarthy found himself a stop-gap full-back before leaving the panel some time ago.

His surprising recall for the game against Antrim saw him included at centre-half-back, the position normally occupied by O’Mahony, with the latter suitably accommodated at left-half-back.

Now he’s moved out altogether to facilitate Young’s return to action and O’Sullivan, who has never looked totally comfortable at full-back, is now moved to left-full-back with Tommy Griffen, who has played most of his football at midfield, now handed the full-back role against Dublin — musical chairs or what!

Kerry’s defensive deficiencies have been apparent to many of us for some time but they have been papered over simply because their attack has generally always managed to put more scores on the board than their opponents.

That is now becoming increasingly difficult for Jack O’Connor’s side particularly with Kieran Doanghy still an absentee from full-forward.

The Kerry rearguard can expect its toughest test of the year on Monday at Croke Park against a Dublin forward division in which Bernard Brogan, Jason Sherlock and Conal Keaney have been on fire lately.

Yet for all the uncertainty in relation to their defence and worries over the ageing legs of 34-year-old Dara O Se at midfield, Kerry are not being written off.

Dublin may have won the Leinster title — now they have to get the Kerry monkey off their backs.

KERRY: D Murphy; M O Se, T Griffin, T O’Sullivan; T O Se, M McCarthy, K Young; D O Se, S Scanlon; P Galvin, Declan O’Sullivan, D Walsh; C Cooper, T Walsh, Darren O’Sullivan.