Interview: Kildare taking it one game at a time insists Glenn
Tommy Callaghan chats with Kildare manager Glenn Ryan as he sets out on Year 2 as Kildare senior football manager
The clock is ticking down. Just before Kildare commence life in Division 2 of the Allianz Football League and Kildare manager, Glenn Ryan — about to embark on Year 2 of his tenure in charge of Kildare senior footballers — meets up for a chat about everything football, from last season's disappointing displays, to this season's O'Byrne Cup debacle, the start of life in the upcoming League and the Leinster Championship.
Looking relaxed and not shying away from any questions or queries, the Round Towers man says, that apart from “one or two players not being in the place we wish they were, everything else seems to be falling into line for the opening game against Dublin.”
That opening game is, of course, this Saturday, January 28, a 5 pm throw-in, at Croke Park.
“It is a cliche, but yes, we will be taking it one game at a time; if we start looking over our shoulders before the thing starts at all it will be only putting extra baggage on top of it; the pressure is already there so that is why we will just look at things from one game to the next; the first two (Dublin and Cork) come very close then a bit of a break; so definitely one game at a time.”
Glenn admitted they have looked back at everything that happened last year; have learned from it and have made a few changes that will hopefully correct where they fell down.
With so much talk of changes in the backroom etc, Glenn quickly put those to bed confirming that as regards himself and his selectors, there is no change, Johnny (Doyle), Anthony (Rainbow) and Dermot (Earley) are all on board again for 2023.
The manager confirmed Paul Galvin has departed the scene while also confirming two additions to the backroom squad.
“We have identified high performance aspect as a key area and with that in mind we have brought in Ann Marie Kennedy, a highly experienced High Performance Psychologist; as well as Daniel Kilgannon, experienced athletics coach, who is presently coaching some of the top sprinters in the country; Daniel will be working on speed and athleticism, that is two areas we have pin-pointed from last year that we felt needed improvement; two key areas.”
On Paul Galvin, Ryan says “no one is taking up what Paul was doing specifically, we were very sorry to lose him, he left for personal reasons, but he certainly brought a focus to our skill-set; we learned a lot during the year from what Paul brought to the table; we will be bringing forward what he was trying to impart on the lads.
“From my own point of view” added Glenn, “I would have, I thought, had a fair handle on some of the stuff Paul brought to us but we will all be much more aware now from whathe brought; all around skill-set; it is something that Johnny (Doyle) will focus a lot more on and it will go right down to the development squads.”
On the playing front Shea Ryan and Ryan Houlihan should be available to start for Saturday's opener; others such as Eoin Doyle, Daniel Flynn and Ben McCormack may not get the green light for the throw-in but, hopefully will be available if required.
Kevin Feely has made remarkable strides from his serious injury from last summer; in fact he managed two 10 minute or so periods over the last two weenend.
“The biggest problem with Kevin is getting him not to do too much but he has made remarkable strides, way ahead of schedule, but is not there just yet” added the manager.
Saturday's game is important, says Glenn “but still two points and the focus this year will be on the fact it is two points as opposed to the fact that is Dublin.”