Hyland: Johnston 'not an All-Star'

Cavan manager Terry Hyland wished Seanie Johnston and Kildare the best of luck together and then delivered a damning assessment of both.

Johnston made his long-awaited debut for Kildare against his native county in Cavan yesterday amidst a hostile atmosphere at Kingspan Breffni Park.

Hyland had kept a diplomatic silence for months over the whole furore surrounding Johnston's inter-county transfer but did not hold back after the 3-20 to 1-9 All-Ireland qualifier loss.

"Good luck to Seanie, he's a good footballer, but he's not an All-Star," insisted the Breffni boss.

"And good luck to Kildare, they have a team that's progressing - but they haven't won any All-Irelands yet.

"It has been a circus and there has been crazy stuff going all all week. Even in Cavan, there were cameras running round here and there. No one will mind that it's over."

Asked if the door was firmly shut on any possible return of Johnston to the Cavan fold in the future, Hyland responded: "You'd have to ask Seanie.

"I presume Seanie has made his decision, so if there are any other decisions to be made it's him that has to make them."

Meanwhile, Kildare supremo Kieran McGeeney criticised the GAA's handling of the Johnston saga and said the player's only mistake was that he was too honest and not sneaky.

He also defended his decision to introduce Johnston as a substitute for the last 10 minutes when the game was long over as a contest.

Cavan supporters felt the move was designed to rub salt into their wounds but McGeeney explained: "Seanie was playing well in training this week. He deserved his chance so he got it.

"All I know was that Seanie was available to play for Kildare today. That's all I know.

"I can't treat him differently to everybody else. If he is playing well, then he is entitled (to play) but you could obviously see he was nervous."

There was a very bad atmosphere at Kingspan Breffni Park throughout the afternoon and the introduction of Johnston sparked loud cheering from the huge Kildare support as well as boos from the home crowd.

Despite the venom spilling down from the stand and terraces, McGeeney insisted he had not heard or seen anything untoward.

"It was a great atmosphere. The Kildare supporters today were brilliant. They were fantastic from the word go. Did you see hostility there? I didn't, because all I could hear was cheers."