Glenn Ryan leads his people to the final frontier

It was like the return of King Arthur to save the land in its hour of greatest need. After Jack O’Connor’s abrupt departure last August, Kildare turned to Glenn Ryan, who as a player had twice lifted the Leinster trophy, taken the county’s under-21s to an All-Ireland final but who had never been entrusted with his own county’s fortunes.

He arrived with Kildare wondering what to do next. O’Connor had secured promotion to Division One but that would be a major challenge. Ryan surrounded himself with other heavyweight former players and the management instantly struck a chord with the public, according to former manager Pádraig Nolan.

“The management team, Johnny [Doyle], Anthony [Rainbow], Dermot [Earley] would all have been captains at various stages so they have their own personalities to bring to it.”

A decent league campaign followed, unbeaten at home with wins over Dublin (for the first time in decades) and Monaghan plus an opening-day draw on O’Connor’s return with Kerry. Relegation – slightly unfortunately – followed but a great impression had been made.

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For Nolan the important thing was that they had competed and looked ready for progress. “They shrugged their shoulders and moved on. It was a tough league. They had only three home games and were unbeaten in them, and could even have beaten Kerry the first day. They had good performances.”

This weekend Kildare face Dublin in the Leinster final for the second successive year. Last summer, O’Connor – ever the pragmatist – had in the eyes of the public sent out a team “not to lose by too much”. Now there is a growing belief that they can compete.

Ryan and his management have had a lot to do with that. A fortnight ago the under-20s were in an All-Ireland final against Tyrone, which they lost but in a season that has seen the county reach all three provincial finals, minor, under-20 and senior.

“There’s a very positive vibe about football in Kildare at the moment,” says Nolan. All the young lads look up to the senior team. That’s the most important one for pulling the county together.

“You only had to be in Newbridge to see what it meant to people to beat Dublin in the league. There’s probably also a lot of positivity coming from the fact that it’s our own heroes now managing the team and they’ll get all the time because if you won’t give it to them, who are you going to give it to?”

Former county player Brian Flanagan managed the under-20s to their successes this year and he remembers the impact of Ryan’s appointment.

“We had our own trials back in October, November for the under-20s and it was a cold, wet Saturday morning and Glenn turned up. We hadn’t asked him to turn up or anything, but he was adamant that he wanted to speak to the players. We might have had 40 or 45 lads on trial and he spoke to them for about 20 minutes after the session.

“He spoke about Kildare and the importance of having the right attitude, wanting to win when you got the jersey. To do that for a bunch of fellas on trial when only 10 of them might have ended up making the final squad, was a massive gesture.”

That emphasis on the Kildare identity has chimed in the dressing-room as players have responded.

“You can see it in the team’s performance,” according to Nolan, “particularly Daniel Flynn, who’s playing his best football ever this year. He’s really playing for the team – the number of scores he set up for other players in the Westmeath match whereas before he seemed to be in and out of games. That’s a reflection on the management.”

Flanagan pays special tribute to former All Star forward Johnny Doyle.

“A lot of hard work has gone in over the past 10 years. A lot of people have shed blood, sweat and tears, and nobody more than Johnny Doyle over the past couple of years as a development officer.

“He’s not just a coach and selector with the senior team. I’ve seen him do water boy with the minors. He’s always there sorting out bibs and jerseys, and is the go-to man if you want help in any way with your team. He’s arranging coaching clinics throughout the summer and is in and out of schools – he’s just an ever-present in Kildare GAA, which has been hugely helpful.”

Not even the most demanding supporter is looking to have the Delaney Cup heading down the motorway later this evening but they are desperate for a competitive showing – for the energy and commitment of the league to be reproduced and at least to leave Dublin knowing they were in a game.

Flanagan is confident of that much. “There’s a genuine feeling that these players and this management are planning to win this game and that’s very different to where we’ve been this past couple of years.”