Kildare ladies manager Sean Finnegan previews Sunday's league clash against Wexford

Kildare ladies visit travel south this Sunday to take on Wexford for a first round clash in the Lidl National Football League Division 3B. The Lilywhites opponents were recently relegated from Division 2 and present a stiff challenge for new manager Sean Finnegan in his first competitive game.

But Kildare's new manager knows quite a lot about Sunday's opponents, having faced and beaten Wexford in last year's intermediate All-Ireland final during his time as Westmeath manager.

"They present a big challenge, having come down from Division 2 they bring that higher level experience with them. Their manager Lizzie Kent joined them in the middle of the championship last year and done an incredible job. But now she’s had a whole winter with her group so I expect they’ll be a really tough test," Finnegan said.

A full winter camp and ample time with his squad is not something that the Kildare boss can boast himself as he found his league preparations interrupted by Covid-19 in January.

“It is hard to nail down what our ambitions are for the league campaign because we’ve only had eight sessions on the pitch as a team. I don't know where we are yet but I am definitely optimistic. One thing is for sure, I will have a much clearer idea where we stand after this match on Sunday," he said.

"I want to see a performance, I am delighted with the response I have got since arriving from the squad but I am of course, as any manager is, apprehensive for the first game but excited to see what happens."

The former Westmeath boss faced what is now his Kildare side en-route to last year's intermediate All-Ireland and said that game was one of many factors in joining the Lilywhites for 2022: "We faced Kildare in the semi final in the All-Ireland and to be honest there was nothing in it, and obviously we went on to win it so you could see there was something there with squad in that squad."

"Kildare is a huge footballing county and since then I've always been keeping track of the squad and players, even with the underage setups so I could see the obvious potential that was there."

The short format of just a four-team league also presents danger for any side in the division, a fact that Wexford have found out the hard way in the past. The Kildare manager reckons anything can happen over the short format: "This league of four is a sprint, and you have to get out of the blocks early with a performance if you are hoping to go up or even avoid going down, such is the nature of it.”

“But who knows what might happen Sunday, you could have horrendous conditions, anything can happen on the day. We have a squad of quality players and it's time to gel them together now for us.”