Kildare driven by not just any Geezer

GAELIC GAMES ALL-IRELAND QUARTER-FINAL:WHAT NEWS from the Lilywhites? Well, for starters, after defeating Monaghan last Saturday, Kildare manager Kieran McGeeney name-checked the greatest Bainisteoir of them all, Mick O'Dwyer, as an inspiration.

"Belief is everything. Some people are just brilliant at it. Micko is one of those fellas that can make you believe you are better than anyone in the country. And once you believe that you are hard to stop."

Kildare against Meath this Sunday is a tricky one to call. Mainly because it is unclear if either county is a genuine contender for Sam Maguire. The devaluation of Leinster football and all that.

Here's what we do know: Meath destroyed an inexperienced Dublin but were lucky to beat Louth. Kildare conceded 1-22 against the since-departed Louth only to rehabilitate impressively in the qualifiers.

However, Antrim, Leitrim and self-combusting Derry and Monaghan teams may have created false belief.

Meath will tell us more about Kildare's progress after three years following McGeeney's football philosophy.

Unquestionably, "Geezer" was one of the great on-field leaders to ever play Gaelic football and he appears to have evolved into a decent sideline general.

Paul Grimley has been and gone as his experienced assistant, since replaced by another fellow Armagh man, Aidan O'Rourke, while Niall Carew has been the necessary local lieutenant over these past three campaigns.

Carew has no hesitation heaping high praise on McGeeney.

"The fact that Kieran doesn't court the media as well as other managers means he is probably never going to get the recognition he deserves. That's Geezer for you.

"The impact he has made in Kildare, the loyalty he has shown the players, the amount of work he does off the field . . . I haven't seen anyone who is so driven to get the best for his players."

Anyone who witnessed the intensity McGeeney brought to the Armagh captaincy will be aware of his ferocious appetite for success.

"You play for yourself but you play for your manager," Carew continues. "He has that charisma, that drive. He is very astute and always thinking outside the box to improve his players.

"He brings something unique to the Kildare set-up. Something you can't learn. I would think he is the best manager Kildare have ever had."

Hold on. Did O'Dwyer not bring them to an All-Ireland final in 1998?

"Micko had eight or nine years to do that," counters Carew. "Geezer has them in a third All-Ireland quarter-final in a row and Kildare were on their knees when he arrived.

"And Kieran came in as a rookie. Micko had trained Kerry to All-Irelands.

"Paul Grimley was excellent for us but when he left and we went poorly during the league the perception was that Kieran didn't have a clue. But all you have to do is ask the players. That's the proof."

Actually, the proof is on the scoreboard at full-time.

McGeeney tells us, usually only post-match, that success is all about the top six inches.

The great managers can gain access to a player's psyche. Once inside the corridors of their mind, he can instil the necessary belief.

Hugh Campbell is the brain guru in the Kildare camp, the sports psychologist.

The physical and mental challenge laid before Kildare is to win the sixth game in six weeks of championship football.

"Julie Davis (physical trainer) has our boys in great shape so we knew it wasn't a fitness thing - it was a mental thing. That's where Hugh came in. He has instilled the mental toughness."

Now all they have to do is put the ball over bar. Visualise the white and green flags being raised.

"If you believe you're tired you are going to be tired," said McGeeney last Saturday.

It all sounds so simple but in sport it can so easily fall apart. Just look at Kildare's captain and leading scorer Johnny Doyle against Monaghan as he accumulated six wides in the opening 35 minutes.

Carew insists you look deeper still.

"Johnny's work-rate was unbelievable. He clocks up more miles than most during games. He was involved in 1-6 of our scores the last day. Think back to the goal. He made three runs to lose his marker and then sprinted 50 yards across the field to take the ball, took two hits before releasing James Kavanagh, who took no hit, who in turn passed to Ronan Sweeney, who took no hit. The two boys got all the plaudits while Johnny was the one with the sore ribs.

"Johnny Doyle is our special player. For a footballer of his calibre to do that amount of work and be your top scorer is very unique."

Whichever side loses this meeting will be stranded in limbo. No progress. Whichever team wins is in touching distance of the breakaway elite.

"It is a game both teams expect to win," adds Carew.

What happens when both teams believe?

Wait and see.