IT’S ONE GAME AT A TIME FOR LILIES
O’Callaghan won’t focus on run needed for Championship place
assembled, particularly coach Colm Nally, a Dubliner who has previously worked with Meath and Louth and who came on board with Kildare this year.
Best
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“Colm is top class. He’s probably the best coach I’ve ever had in my playing career.
“I couldn’t speak highly enough of Colm. His training sessions are always different, always challenging. That’s the main thing, you’re always thinking, always using your brain when you’re actually playing instead of going through the motions.
“Colm has been top class. Obviously, it hasn’t reflected in our performances thus far. I wouldn’t say that’s a fair reflection on Colm or his training. We just need to bring what he’s taught us to the championship. Hopefully, it’ll go our way.”
He added: “None of our problems on the pitch have stemmed from a lack or coaching or training, the management side of things, it’s all been player-based or individuals not performing to the highest levels that they should be.”
Gorman’s comments came after Kildare lost their opening two League games and while results didn’t improve as they were beaten in their next five outings, O’Callaghan argues that performances did.
Structure
“Our defensive structure was very good in the last few games. If you watched us, we were well organised in those matches.
“We probably let ourselves down in terms of our shooting efficiency or maybe the taking of our chances but we were creating as many chances as the teams we were playing. We were defending really well.
“We’ll have a big boost now, a couple of lads coming back to the pitch who might have been injured during the league. That will give a massive boost to the whole panel.
“Obviously, the quality of training will increase with that. Hopefully that will roll into matches.”
Amid the team’s struggles, criticism hasn’t been in short supply, particularly on social media.
“It has been tough, you just have to take it with a pinch of salt, some people are commenting hate or saying negative things online from a place of insecurities or sadness in their own lives, so sometimes you just have to pity them,” said O’Callaghan.
Brunt
“Sometimes you have to look at it whereby some people might not have much money and paid money to come and see us and left disappointed, so you’ve to look at it from that side of things as well.
“I have been the brunt of a lot of the kind of abuse online as well and I don’t mind that either, my main thing with that is if I don’t know somebody personally then I am not going to take their opinion with any resolve or anything like that.
“The same if things were going fantastically, you are not going to be listening to praise and outside noise.
“It goes both ways, you just have to focus on inside the group and what you can do better for each game as it comes.”