Foley backing Athy players for Kildare call

MICK FOLEY is backing many of his young Athy team-mates to break into the Kildare set-up inside the next 12 months.

All Star nominee Foley was captain as Athy won the county senior football title for the first time in 24 years on Sunday and hailed the work done at underage level as the root of their success. The south Kildare outfit won three minor titles in-a-row from 2008 and added their first ever U21 championship last year with a team that to a man, is underage again for this season’s campaign which is due to start shortly.

But with a Leinster championship campaign beginning against Offaly kingpins Edenderry on November 13, they are going to be very much in demand. And if Foley has his wish, Kieran McGeeney will be looking for the many of them as well.

“We needed fellas to step up,” he said. “That’s just the way these lads are. They’re made of unbelievable stuff. There’s lads there that hopefully will have great careers in the white of Kildare. There are some things you just can’t train. Some of these lads have that bit of leadership that you can’t breed in fellas.

“I’ve been fairly lonely there for a while. Hopefully there’s no full-backs or centre-backs around there although young David Hyland is an unbelievable player for 17 years of age. He’s incredible.

“Geezer, if he sees that you’re going to work hard he’ll put you in the fray no matter what age you are. He’d be honest like that so I would like to think that a good few of the lads will hopefully either make the juniors next year or come through to the senior panel, be within the system anyway.”