Kildare boss discovers Dublin drive-for-five hype is all-consuming

“My quotes were taken out of context” is sport’s version of “that money was just resting in my account” but were Cian O’Neill to plead as much on Sunday evening, he would be pardoned. It’s only early June but his “we are going to win that match” remark ahead of Kildare’s Leinster SFC semi-final against Dublin could turn out to be the most cruelly interpreted lines of the GAA year, possibly even the decade.

Despite being interpreted by media outlets as a prediction, his comment following last Sunday’s quarter-final replay win over Longford was an answer to a question about how Kildare would approach the upcoming encounter.