Merrins says team-building plan will reap dividends

DISAPPOINTMENT yes, and some regrets, but there’s no question of the alarm bells going off in Kildare following a second consecutive poor performance in the league according to county board chairman Syl Merrins.

While admitting that they would have expected to be in a better position — having drawn away to Tyrone in their first round and beaten holders Donegal in Newbridge — he stressed they were in the middle of a team-building project.

In the meantime, he expressed his wholehearted support for manager Kieran McGeeney and his selectors, commenting: “We have every confidence in him. I have to say I am very impressed by him. What happened on Sunday against Mayo was just one of those things.’’

While acknowledging that “it wasn’t an excuse,” Merrins pointed out that six players who had started against Donegal weren’t in the team for Sunday. Two of them were U21 players Gary White and Alan Smith, who were introduced as late substitutes after playing in Saturday’s Leinster semi-final win over Carlow.

The other four players who didn’t start were full-back Kevin O’Neill, wing-back Brian Flanagan, and midfielders Padraig Mullarkey and Killian Brennan, who is captain.

With the U21 final being played on Sunday afternoon in Wexford Park, Smith and White are again ruled out of the league game with Kerry in Tralee on Saturday night.

Merrins believes that it will take three years to develop the team. “We have a lot of young players coming up. It’s not going to happen overnight for Kieran and the lads, but I think they will be successful.

“You go out in the league with the hope of doing well, but the championship is what matters. We had a good league campaign last season, but we didn’t have a good championship. It was the same with Donegal after they won the league for the first time.’’

In the meantime, McGeeney will be demanding a big improvement against the All-Ireland champions, very much aware that a repeat of their second-half form against Mayo could get them into big trouble.

John O’Mahony certainly has more reason to be optimistic about the immediate future for a Mayo team which is also being rebuilt. However, he is worried that they could possibly be without Billy Joe Padden for the opening round of the championship, explaining that an MRI scan on what was thought to be a ‘simple injury,’ was looking like a ruptured ligament.

Trevor Mortimer seems likely to be ruled out by the hamstring problem which forced him off early in Newbridge and the management have several other injury concerns.

However, O’Mahony is not unduly worried (apart from Padden’s situation) at this stage.

“With two games in a row over the next two weeks, the panel is going to be tested,’’ he said.

“But, that’s no harm. It will give us an idea of who our best 30 are coming into the championship.’’