Selective hearing and seeing has won few followers

It’s a myth that winners are hated. Jose Mourinho and Alex Ferguson draw opprobrium on their teams because of their incessant whining after games.

AS Kieran McGeeney walked forlornly down the tunnel under the Hogan Stand he suddenly stopped in his tracks. His attention had been drawn by a voice from the seats to his right.

After his team’s gut-wrenching defeat, McGeeney was in a dark place. It probably wasn’t the best time to hassle him.

McGeeney looked up and walked over to the railings. The person hollering at him was a young boy. He asked the Kildare manager for his bainisteoir’s bib. McGeeney promptly removed his blue top and handed it over.

This is the side of Kieran McGeeney which is rarely witnessed. It’s a pity.

A good conversationalist who will happily argue for hours, (and I stress the word happily), I’ve had the pleasure of some long chats with him on and off the record.

We know McGeeney is a man of frightening willpower. If he can’t get what he wants by changing himself, he will try changing the conditions.

Therefore, like many managers, he rejects any person he can’t control. Not surprisingly, he has a major issue with journalists and referees. He can’t tell journalists what to think or referees what to do.

McGeeney’s distrust of the media and referees was graphically illustrated last week. On Monday, SuperValu hired him as their special guest at a PR gig. Always an engaging interviewee, his presence ensured a good turnout.

However, he point blank refused to field any questions about Donegal, worried that he might say something that would be stuck to the wall of their changing room.

Although unwilling to comment on the opposition, the Kildare manager does not draw the same distinction for referees.

Last Friday morning, every national newspaper in the country received a story in which Niall Carew, a member of McGeeney’s backroom team, expressed concerns about Donegal’s style of play. In keeping with Kildare’s interpretation of most games, Carew declared Saturday’s match would be entirely dependent on the referee.

“If he lets Donegal continue with the cynical fouling of the opposition half-back line in particular, then yes, they will be hard to break down. If he punishes them and hands out yellow cards when they are merited, then we’ll have a chance.”

No one in the Kildare camp talks to the media unless McGeeney says so. While the Kildare manager’s attempt to influence the referee backfired, the story succeeded in revealing his persecution complex.

McGeeney gives the impression his team are the only side that has ever suffered a bad decision. He repeatedly states that he doesn’t want to complain about referees, before complaining at length about them.

When Kildare lose games, it’s because of the referee.

In last year’s All-Ireland semi-final, a massive hue and cry was made about Benny Coulter’s square ball. The 39 steps Eamon O’Callaghan took before scoring his goal were conveniently ignored.

Admittedly this year Kildare were extremely unlucky to concede a free in the dying seconds of the Leinster final. But let’s remember they mightn’t have reached the final if Syl Doyle hadn’t disallowed Graham Geraghty’s perfectly valid goal in the Meath game. Doyle is obviously terrified of compounding Kildare’s distress as he came to their rescue against Derry when he disallowed Enda Muldoon’s goal.

While McGeeney bemoans any call that goes against his unfortunate players, he doesn’t extend quite the same empathy towards his opponents.

He was asked if he felt sorry for a team that only had six days to pick themselves up after losing the Ulster final: “When I was playing for Armagh nobody had too much sympathy for us. I didn’t hear anyone crying whenever we got beaten.”

But the former footballer of the year is wrong. He was the captain of an Armagh team admired for their manly conduct, on and off the pitch.

It’s a myth that winners are hated. Jose Mourinho and Alex Ferguson draw opprobrium on their teams because of their incessant whining.

Criticism of the opposition only invites scrutiny of your own team. And there are no saints in county football. That includes Kildare.

When they went three points ahead in extra-time, they used every trick in the book. Shane Connolly’s kick-outs took an eternity and cynical fouls were committed to run down the clock. But, in the end, the controversy detracted from another heroic display by the Lilywhites.

Jim McGuinness was incensed at McGeeney’s attempts to influence the referee via the media. Michael Murphy let McGeeney know exactly what he thought about the story in Saturday’s papers.

In the ultimate twist, McGuinness revealed the same story was used to motivate Donegal’s players. McGeeney’s silence at the PR event was in vain.

The real shame is that McGeeney is a genuine sportsman. He displayed considerable dignity after the game. He could easily have ignored the young bib-hunter. By stopping, he revealed the true strength and generosity of his spirit.

He should bring more of those traits to his management. Planting stories in the press and habitually moaning about referees is not becoming of a man of his character.

Kieran McGeeney is better than that. And his gallant players deserve a better manager than that.