Andriú Mac Lochlainn: ‘You’d think revenge would be sweet for Cian O’Neill’

By Daragh Ó Conchúir

Former Kildare defender Andriú Mac Lochlainn has challenged the current crop of players to conclude their rescue operation with a big performance against Kerry this evening.

While relegation from Division 1 of the National League was disappointing, the defeat by Carlow in the Leinster Championship left the Lilywhites looking rudderless.

They rebuilt their confidence with qualifier wins over Derry and Longford, before the momentous defeat of Mayo that will go down in the history books as the Newbridge Or Nowhere clash.

A comfortable win over Fermanagh secured a place in the Super 8s that had looked unlikely only months previously.

Narrow defeats to Monaghan and Galway have not seen their stock devalue, but to continue their development, they will need to get over the line more regularly against top-eight opposition.

“If I was involved as a player or a member of management, I would put a huge emphasis on this game,” says Mac Lochlainn.

“With this group of players, I don’t know what their mindset would be going down.

"Are they going down thinking the season has already wound down for the last two weeks and it’s a nothing game, we’re the story of the year to date and that’s enough?

If I was in the management team, the pitch I’d be giving them is that we have a massive opportunity to set next season up for ourselves in terms of finishing off a turned-around season with a bang, with a performance, getting a victory in the Super 8s and not being the whipping boys of the Super 8s.

“If you pitch that to the players and that’s what your thought is, that this is bigger than this game, in the last 10 minutes you’ve got something to play for, but if you’re in the last 10 minutes and it’s tight, Kildare are already out and Kerry need to win by five, you need something to focus to mind for getting over the finishing line.

"That’s my concern for this group of players. I think that should be a massive carrot dangling for them.”

Surely, though, a win over Kerry in any context would be motivation enough?

“I don’t know if this group of players are in that mindset. You’d think revenge would be sweet for [Kildare manager] Cian O’Neill.

"A few of the ex-players have had a few little things to say about his time down there.

"No real all-out attack, but just a few little comments about him and you’d like to think he has a massive motivation and can pass that onto the players.

“It’s the one place I think the team needs to develop and they are developing over the last couple of games, is that mental robustness.

"They have proven on a day they can mix it with the best of them, or almost the best — top six, top four — but it’s the consistency, doing it on a day-to-day basis. That’s the challenge.”