Pat Flanagan insists best is yet to come from Pádraig Pearses

The newly crowned Connacht champions will face Kilmacud Crokes in the All-Ireland club semi-final

Pádraig Pearses manager Pat Flanagan celebrates with Shane Carty. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

Despite the ‘special’ achievement of leading Pádraig Pearses to their maiden Connacht Club Championship title, Pat Flanagan was keeping his feet on the ground.

The experienced manager was keen to stress that Pearses “will have to perform an awful lot better” to upset the odds against Leinster champions Kilmacud Crokes in the upcoming All-Ireland semi-final.

“I honestly think there’s far more in them,” said the Westmeath native. “I honestly think we didn’t perform to anywhere close to 100% today.

“There’s a big, big game to come up in a few weeks’ time. Are we capable of winning it? I’m sure we are, but we still have to perform an awful lot better than what we performed today.

“Can we do that? I think we can.”

The former Westmeath, Sligo, and Offaly boss was generous in both his praise for the Pearses GAA club, and the players, who had to survive a late Knockmore rally before claiming the Shane McGettigan Cup.

“I couldn’t speak highly enough of Pearses,” he said.

“The standard of the club is way beyond some of the counties that I’ve been involved with. They have so much desire and drive to be better, bigger, and stronger. It’s great to be a part of it.

“It was great for Pádraig Pearses to show the character and the self-belief to get across the line this time.”

Flanagan also explained the logic behind putting full-forward Hubert Darcy in goal after regular ’keeper Paul Whelan was black-carded in the second quarter.

“It wasn’t planned beforehand, but the reason for putting Hubert in there was we knew he could carry ball if needed, and he did come out two or three times with the ball. That was the whole reason we put him in.”