O'Neill to run the rule over U20s stars as possible additions to Kildare senior panel

Cian O’Neill is planning to look at some of the All-Ireland U20 winning crop as potential additions to his panel ahead of the 2019 season.

The Kildare manager confirmed that he has looked at plenty of options ahead of next year, and his eyeline has been dominated by the talented group that delivered an All-Ireland title to the county for the first time since 1965.

“We’ve met, and we’ve had a look at options,” confirmed O’Neill.

“Obviously, we’ve last year’s panel as it stands. You’re always looking to see if you should freshen things up, and to me every year you should be freshening things up. Obviously, the boost the county got with the brilliant U20 All-Ireland victory has to draw you towards that group initially to see if any of them are ready to step up. We’ll definitely be looking at quite a few of that squad.”

He also outlined how he was looking to unearth any players who might have slipped through the system or have been late developers and missed out on playing with the county at underage level. He highlighted both Kevin Flynn and David Slattery as examples, while also saying there are a couple of players who were previously involved with the county but not involved in 2018 who may return.

“I’ve been at a lot of matches as always this summer, trying to see if there is anyone out there,” continued O’Neill.

“A little gem like Kevin Flynn last year or David Slattery the year before that hadn’t stepped up to that level. I’ll be looking at a couple of players in that regard, and a couple of guys who were away from the panel for different reasons that might be an option to come back in.”

O’Neill and his new management team of Tom Cribbin and Karl O’Dwyer will finalise their winter training panel in the coming weeks.