Cautious Nolan stepping into the great unknown

KILDARE manager Padraig Nolan accepts his side are raging favourites to beat Wicklow in the first round of the Bank of Ireland Leinster senior football championship at Croke Park tomorrow.

But the locally-based schoolteacher also knows it's only the first step into the great unknown of the provincial championship.

"There's no way we're looking beyond tomorrow's game.

"A local derby like this will always be tough and I know it will be real championship stuff.

"This is where it all starts. When you get back into Croke Park in May you're in the real thing."

This will be Kildare's first championship meeting with Wicklow since 1993 when they recovered after an uneasy start to win by two points. Since then Kildare have gone on to win two Leinster titles and qualified for the All-Ireland final in 1998 when, after being hit by an injury crisis, they lost out to a young and stylish Galway side.

Kildare will have just two survivors from the '98 team in action, left corner back Anthony Rainbow and centre back Glen Ryan.

Between them Ryan and Rainbow have given 27-years of service to Kildare with Ryan making his senior debut in 1991 and Rainbow a year later.

And manager Nolan is banking on their vast experience to provide the formula for success.

"Ideally every team should have a balance of youth and experience. We are introducing two young lads to senior championship football, Padraig O'Neill and Padraig Mullarkey, while Anthony and Glen provide the necessary experience.

"Both have been great servants to Kildare football, and, I believe, they will be the main sources of inspiration for our newcomers."

Kildare had a very mixed NFL campaign - winning some good games but also being on the end of heavy defeats. But Nolan is not one for looking back: "The championship is an entirely different kettle of fish. It's all on the day and, hopefully, we will be up for this one," he said.

Wicklow have taken the bold step of handing championship debuts to no fewer than six players, defenders Brendan Daly and Kevin Manning, midfielders James Stafford and David Dillon and forwards David Smullen and Paul Earls, which make the Garden County something of an unknown quantity.