Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
If Lilies don’t believe they can win they might as well not turn up
FROM the shoulders up and between the ears – it’s the fundamental ingredient any team that strives for success must have, a really strong mental state of mind. Individual players must have it but also a team must have it collectively to achieve greatness.
Dublin have it in abundance and, for the most part, it’s the one ingredient that has prevented good – and some very good – Kildare teams from succeeding.
Tyrone and Down, the Ulster finalists, have it in spades this year. Kerry have it.
Looking at tomorrow’s Leinster final, Kildare possess the strongest, fittest, best conditioned and most talented team they have developed since the great old days of provincial success under Mick O’dwyer.
After their brilliant victory against old rivals Laois and Meath, everything is set up now for Kildare to launch themselves on the big stage.
But now is exactly where the problems start for Cian O’neill.
Just when the long suffering supporters have been convinced that their team is going to do something big they suffer yet another implosion.
O’neill’s ability as a manager ultimately won’t be about the brilliant conditioning of his panel.
But it will hinge on whether he can crack the conundrum that is the psychological state of mind of the Kildare player.
Tactically he must go long and direct – and more often than not.
Deep down in their gut and in their heart, do they really believe they can beat this Dublin team? And when things go wrong, what can they do to turn the tide?
That’s the crux of the issue because so many scars have been inflicted on Kildare by Dublin, the latest being 19 points.
Yes, Dublin will give Kildare due diligence and will have a gameplan for them, but going into this game the Dubs don’t – and won’t – really respect their opponents. They don’t really rate them as a team.
It’s up to Kildare to show they deserve respect so Croke Park must be their stage to kick on.
They don’t necessarily have to beat Dublin, but they must give a strong performance – and avoid another shambolic implosion.
You see there’s no in between with Kildare. They either go out and take a game by storm or, like against Westmeath last summer when they were cruising with a six-point lead with 20 minutes to go, they can suffer a catastrophe.
They’ve taken some bad beatings in recent years, in particular in the last couple of years. They conceded seven goals to Kerry at Croke Park, remember, and were beaten by 27 points.
Then they lost to Clare in the 2016 league final they should have won and it was the same this year against Galway, who were average that day.
It’s not the result but the performance that will tell Leinster football if Kildare are in a different state of mind.
They are different now. They have pace, they set up well defensively and in midfield they have the platform provided now by Tommy Moolick and the brilliant Kevin Feely and that pair can go toe to toe with anyone.
In the forward line Slattery and Kelly have pace and guile, Mcnally gets in behind with his runs and to have Paddy Brophy back is fantastic.
Daniel Flynn at full forward is one of the most destructive players I’ve ever seen – he was unmarkable against Meath.
What we need to see is all these players performing with no fear and see where it takes them.
For that to happen, O’neill will have had to carry out serious surgery on the six inches between his players’ ears – the only thing that has stopped them up to now.
Dublin’s Johnny Cooper spoke this week about the need to play on the edge and with a ruthless streak, and it’s something Kildare have failed to do on many occasions.
They must take no bullying and set the tone from the first minute.
The worst thing that could have happened Dublin was that phenomenal display against Westmeath.
Nobody saw it coming so early, and it will be interesting to see if there’s a reaction to that and to the media spat Jim Gavin got involved in over Diarmuid Connolly.
It should be fascinating. If this Kildare team with all it’s strength, power and pace can’t put it up to Dublin well then I give up on Leinster football completely.