Disappointed O'Neill warns there 'has to be consequences' for players poor performance against Limerick

There was an odd feeling around St Conleth’s in the direct aftermath of Sunday afternoon’s victory over Limerick. Two points gained, only three scores conceded from play, no injuries sustained to any Kildare players and some positive performances from more inexperienced members of the side such as Johnny Byrne and Kevin Feely. On paper it seemed like a decent outcome, but there was a level of despondency surrounding the Kildare performance that would usually accompany a heavy championship defeat. Cian O’Neill, who would usually look on most performances in a positive light, was certainly feeling a level of anguish that he hadn’t previously experienced in management. “It was a hugely disappointing performance, there’s no point shying away from that. We started very well, we were moving the ball well. I don’t know, it’s just one of those things. It has largely happened us in the second halves, we kind of deviate away from what’s working and start trying different things and that went against us badly and we let them back in,” said O’Neill. “We let them back into the game, largely through frees, some of them would be questionable, but the fact is that they were frees nonetheless.” “We knew Limerick’s scoring percentage from play was quite low. We talked about discipline in defence, yet I think four of their six points in the first half came from frees. What is more disappointing is that five of their six scores came from turnovers.” “Those are two huge things we can work on there. We kicked a few wides that were needless and we just gave them oxygen. They grew in confidence, and obviously when a team gains momentum and it goes against you it gets very hard to change that.” The players certainly didn’t look as if they had just notched their fourth win on the bounce, meaning they are one of only four teams in the country to have won every game in their division. O’Neill gathered his troops immediately after the game for a lengthy discussion on the pitch before he spoke to the press. The players then formed another huddle without their manager, and a discussion that lasted almost 15 minutes ensued. The players evidently knew that their performance was well short of the mark, and O’Neill was keen to stress that there would be consequences. “Lads need to know as well that there has to be consequences for things that happen in matches. There were too many guys that didn’t perform there today and they need to understand that in a competitive environment that is not acceptable and the standards we set are really high, and if you don’t reach those standards there are repercussions. That’s part of the game,” said O’Neill. “There’ll be mistakes made next week and there will be repercussions there as well, but it’s a seven day turnaround and we need to get our stuff together.” “They’re definitely still playing within themselves. It’s almost like there’s something holding them back. You’d like to think with time, a bit more practice, there will be continuous improvement and we are building nicely in training. There’s definitely something that’s not just clicking with us at the moment and that’s up to us as a group, as a management and as players, to really figure that out.” “Later in the division, never mind the first round of the championship, the standard that we played to today, it’s not at that level.” Sligo visit Newbridge next weekend, and with the Yeats men in danger of being relegated from Division 3, they will certainly not be lacking fight. O’Neill will be hoping that his players can dust themselves off from their mini setback and come back stronger.