"We’ll play to win"- O'Neill keen to achieve sustainability as Kildare prepare for Division 1 life

The steady progress of the last two years has been as good as anyone could have expected from the Cian O’Neill era of Kildare football thus far.

The Lilywhites had just been excommunicated from Division 2 following a poor season under Jason Ryan when O’Neill took over before the 2016 season, and back to back promotions back into the upper echelon of the National Football League was as surprising as it was impressive. With it being the Moorefield man’s first time as the manager of an intercounty team, the past two years have been as much about learning on the job for O’Neill as it has been for the players.

This year he will get to pit his wit against some of the top brass in the management game, coming up against the likes of Jim Gavin, Stephen Rochford, Mickey Harte and Eammon Fitzmaurice on a regular basis.

“I think it’s not about managers at all,” said O’Neill however.

“Sometimes there is a bit too much emphasis put on managers, especially when it comes to matchday. You know it’s really about the players and all the hard work they’ve put in. They are playing within a framework that they have a huge role within as well, but ultimately when those men cross the white line, with the exception of a substitution or a tactical tweak here or there, so I think it should be more about the players than any other angle.”

Now that Kildare are making the jump to Division 1 it is intriguing to see how they respond to the step up in class. O’Neill is certainly confident that there is another step of improvement to come from his side, even if the bookmakers reckon that they are the most likely to fall through the trap door of the top tier.

In other years at least one promoted team has normally gone down, so Kildare and Galway will be seen as the biggest possibilities for relegation. O’Neill is aware of the difficulties they face with the increased standard of opposition.

“You can’t just say that because last year was a successful one that automatically this year will be too, because obviously the great thing about moving up two divisions is that you’re playing against better teams,” explains O’Neill.

“You have to take every year on its own merits, and even within that you have to take every match on its own merits. That’s probably a cornerstone of the relative success we had last year in the league – we looked at every match as a single obstacle and a challenge and didn’t look too far ahead when we were winning, and we didn’t take a step back too much when we were beaten, for example up in Derry.

The undoubtedly formidable task of facing the reigning three-in-a-row All-Ireland champions on Saturday night is the prospect facing Kildare in their first outing in their new surroundings, six months on from the last time they faced the Metropolitans. On that occasion they were facing a Dublin juggernaut on route to another All-Ireland title – this time they will face a team yet to play competitive football this year.

When asked if this is the perfect time to face Dublin – as if there is ever one – O’Neill laughs and quashes that idea.

“I think it’s very easy for people to let that sentiment roll off their tongue – ‘if you’re going to play them, play them now’,” he said.

“The reality of the situation is that Dublin, with their phenomenal record over the last few years, have lost very, very, very few matches. That goes for league and championship whether it’s the first match in the league or late in the league. There is no such thing as a bad Dublin team or a poor Dublin team that doesn’t really care going into a competitive match, let’s be honest.

“It’s going to be a massive battle, a massive challenge for us. When you aim and when you probe for promotion in the top division, the understanding is that you’re going to be playing the top teams week in, week out. So, whether that’s Dublin, Tyrone, Kerry, Mayo or Galway, it doesn’t make a difference to us really. It’s in Croke Park, where else would you rather be to open the league? We’re excited, we’ve been working hard and working diligently towards this, so let’s see what Saturday night brings us at seven o’clock.”

Keith Cribbin has been ruled out of this weekend's game with a shoulder injury

“Having been on the other side of it for many, many years with UL Sigerson and coaching Fitzgibbon it really comes down to communication between the management team, and players should never be put in the middle of that. I’m quite certain of that,” said O’Neill.

“Any manager that has been in touch with me, we’ve had a really good relationship and an understanding relationship, particularly Johnny Doyle in Maynooth.

“We’ve kept the communication lines are open, and we’ve been transparent about that and we’re friends. I don’t think it should be predicated on that, I think there should be respect whether you know someone or not in terms of how player workload is being monitored. I think the players are happy with how that’s working, being given nights off here and not training nights there.

“When it comes to the match there is not pressure on the players; you have to give 100 per cent to everything because it’s a GAA competition. It’s a serious competition, so I expect them to give everything in that match,” he continued.

Come Saturday night, O’Neill will need every member of his squad in peak condition if they are to seal an unexpected victory and provide a launchpad for their return to Division 1.