David Clifford feels the sense of appreciation from his fellow players is the most satisfying aspect of winning the 2022 PwC GAA/GPA All-Star Footballer of the Year award.
The Kerry forward was rewarded for a year of individual and collective achievement which saw him win his first All-Ireland senior medal after the Kingdom saw off Galway in July's final.
The 23-year-old now has four All-Stars to his name but this year marks the first time he has gained the top honour in the game.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport as he received the gong at the ceremony in Dublin, Clifford said the recognition of his peers made it extra special.
"It's very satisfying. I suppose the All-Ireland is the big prize you set out to win at the start of the year," he said.
"But when you get nominated for something like the Footballer of the Year, it's nice to go on and win it.
"It's nice to get the recognition from your fellow players too, which adds an awful lot to it."
Kerry's David Clifford is the 2022 Footballer of the Year. #rtegaa #allstars
— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) October 28, 2022
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Clifford said it was an award that will mean much for his club Fossa, where he plays alongside brother and fellow All-Star and All-Ireland winner Paudie.
"With Fossa, it's well known obviously that we're a small club and would have struggled a lot at underage with numbers especially," he said.
"Competing with the Killarney clubs was always tough. But there were a couple of mentors we would have had down through the years who would have been a constant all the way with us. You'd still be meeting them and still be in contact with them and I know it brings them a lot of joy."
While the All-Ireland achievement has sunk in, he felt a sense of "massive relief" on the day itself, having "lost a lot of big games in Croke Park" in previous years.
And he credited increasing levels of resolve for helping Kerry get over the line in tight games, eight years on from the last time Sam Maguire resided in the Kingdom.
"We had been very close in the past few years. Probably, in fairness, the introduction of Tony Griffin made a big difference," Clifford said.
"Just working on that mental toughness and bringing us a bit closer as a group. I would say that probably did make a big difference throughout out the year, but especially in the latter stages of those big games."
And while relief may have been the immediate emotion in July, it cascaded into pure joy with the help of the county's supporters.
"Jesus, it was unreal altogether, in fairness, the reaction," Clifford recalled.
"People were just coming from everywhere and it continued on for weeks and weeks at club games and stuff like that. You'd meet people on the street, especially in Killarney during the summer is a busy spot, so you could see the massive relief it brought to Kerry people because they're very proud of their football."
Thoughts will quickly turn towards 2023 for set-ups around the country and Clifford said it would be no different for a Kerry side who will have expectations on their shoulders to push on and build on their success.
"There's a good age-profile there. There's a lot of us in our early twenties so we're very hungry to go on and try to improve. There's still things we definitely feel like we can improve on for next year so we're really looking forward to getting going and working on those things."
Also on Friday, Galway's Jack Glynn was honoured for his performances in the county's run to the All-Ireland final with the Young Footballer of the Year award.
The winner of the Young Footballer of the Year award is defender Jack Glynn of Galway https://t.co/aGxKpUW7LP #RTEgaa
— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) October 28, 2022
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