Flanagan admits that 2026 season has been disappointing
Jack Robinson was Kildare's star performer Photo: James Lawlor
Strength and conditioning, a topic which dominates so many GAA discussions these days, was top of mind, having seen up close and personal the gap between a young Kildare team and their more seasoned opponents.
Flanagan accepts that there is a deficit in that area, as evidenced by what he saw as a drop-off in performance after around 50/55 minutes against both Galway and Kerry. Some might argue the gap was evident way earlier.
“From an athleticism piece, conditioning piece and just general body robustness, experience, confidence, it all feeds into the one, we’re a couple of years off these sides and we know that.”
Curiously, Flanagan suggested his team included players who were far from fully fit for a knock-out championship game. You certainly couldn’t argue with the inclusion of Jack Robinson after his display, but he clearly is not ready for seventy minutes, while Colm Dalton is also operating well below peak.
“Jack’s been in New York for the last two years, he hasn’t necessarily trained or played to the level that he would have liked and he’s back now, he’s in the country for six, seven months. He’s found it tough, but you saw the talent of the man out there today. Same with Ryan Sinkey. Colm Dalton’s probably operating at 60% at best at the minute, so many examples like that throughout the squad.”
Flanagan pointed out the importance of staying connected and involved in the players’ athletic development and fitness during the club season. He also suggested his backroom team would need to review the year and adjust accordingly regarding that topic.
“I think youth plays a part and athleticism but we’ll certainly look at it and I think we need to continue the work here from an S&C point of view, from a training point of view, that we have that ongoing oversight so that in the club season players are still getting the work done that they need to get done, the pre-season probably needs to be looked at in a more wholesome way to make sure that we get the work done early that needs to be done. I think even that extra year will benefit these lads just naturally. You look at the load that some of them have had to do with Sigerson, Club, County. That could be lessened this year for a few of them.”
As reported elsewhere on these pages Flanagan is keen for the county to look more holistically at the “problem” child, the senior team and has already brought in eight to ten of this year’s Leinster-winning Under-20 side to begin their assimilation into senior contention.
“That’s probably what I mean when I say we need to widen the lens and look at Kildare GAA over the next three to five years and developing those kind of lads, making sure the pathways are in place from an S&C and conditioning point of view. The only area we seem to be struggling with in Kildare is success at senior level and that transition piece is the area that needs to be put front and centre in that plan, that we throw everything at it that we can.”
Casting his eyes back to Saturday and the season as a whole, the word “disappointing” made a regular appearance, with the manager accepting that things had not gone to plan.
“Three points out of four after the first two games and really one more point keeps you safe. You know, the ball bounces over the bar against Tyrone that first day we’re still a Division 2 team next year, but fine margins and there were a couple of sliding doors moments within that,” he argued.
“The Leinster Championship you bring Westmeath to extra time and you see what they’ve gone on to do since. Galway, Kerry are not necessarily the ultimate judgement of this group but the year has been disappointing there’s no covering over that in terms of the results.” As for Saturday’s defeat, he was “proud of the effort,” but accepts that the losing deficits against Galway and Kerry reflect how far the team is away from challenging.
“The last few weeks has felt like a ruthless examination of our game plan, our ability, where we’re at in that overall picture and we have to accept that it’s 13/14 points now at this stage. We scored seventeen points both days and that’s not going to be enough to win these matches.” Against Kerry, he felt that “at half-time we were in a decent position. We were struggling off kickouts, we knew hands on ball was going to be key but unfortunately we couldn’t keep it going. The second half, there was a moment I think when Darragh (Kirwan) kicked a two-pointer might have brought it back to eight. Then the goal shortly after, once it went to double figures unfortunately we were never going to get it back.” We wondered whether Flanagan would have the will to continue after such a “disappointing” season but there is no sign of a loss of faith on his part in the players or the project.
“I do believe there’s a group of footballers in there that are progressing, that are developing, that need time but are very much united and driven towards achieving what they want to achieve in the next few years, but it will take time. We’ve seen the step-up today in terms of athleticism and physicality and skillset. We’ve a group of young footballers that need time, that need patience I’m very much bought into this journey, and I believe in these players one hundred percent.”
Kerry had most of the contenders, naturally and the likes of Joe O’Connor, Brian Ó Beaglaoich and Paudie Clifford would fight it out with one or two others for an overall award. For Kildare it boils down to a choice between Alex Beirne, who did everything in his power to drag a performance out of himself and his team, and Jack Robinson, who showed with an awesome point scoring display in the first half what we have been missing for the last few years. He departed early due to fitness issues but in terms of pure ability and quality Robinson looked like the one Kildare player who could fit seamlessly into the Kerry side.
Kildare were edging back, without being particularly convincing, and had brought the gap back to eight points with sixteen minutes remaining. But Eoin Sheehan’s short kick-out went to the last person in Ireland you would want it to, David Clifford, and the inevitable ensued.
When the new St Conleth’s Park was launched with great fanfare, the talk was of a 15,000-capacity stadium. How on earth would another 5,000 have squeezed into the ground on Saturday evening with the official attendance reported as just under 10,000. For a game that was sold out. Make it make sense.
Kerry managed to get game-time into eight of their substitutes, with three of their players departing the field due to blood/head injury issues. As Brian Flanagan pointed out afterwards it’s not the first time this year that opponents have benefitted from the rule, with referees very loathe to adjudicate on medical matters, and understandably so. Perhaps Kildare could be cuter at times themselves. If they hit us, do we not bleed?
The kick out stats shine a light once more on Kildare’s difficulties in this area. They won 46% of their own restarts. Kerry won 87%. Game over. Kerry were not particularly accurate shooting-wise, converting 55% of their attempts (21 out of a whopping 38). Kildare attempted only 21 shots, converting 14 (67%).
For Kildare, the season is over, resuming again in the backwaters of Division 3 in January. Kerry move on to Round 3 next weekend.
