McGeeney defends Kildare's investment

MAYBE THE freshly tanned and healthy look explained why Kieran McGeeney, on a miserable wet day in Croke Park, found himself being quizzed on Kildare’s 10-day training camp in Portugal earlier this month, although he insisted it was of no great cost to the county board.

On one level McGeeney timed the trip to perfection, not just to train in warmer weather, but to complete Kildare’s preparations for Sunday’s Division Two final against Tyrone; on another he timed it poorly, as word emerged while away the Kildare county board requested a €300,000 “bailout” from Croke Park, even if it was an advance on money due, and not a loan.

“There are other teams who are in worse predicaments than us and they still don’t get the same headlines,” said the Kildare manager. “We are probably four years into the worst recession in the history of the world, a lot of other teams are coming down the line with similar things.

“Our fellas went out and raised money and instead of going on a holiday before Christmas, they wanted to go on a training camp. Again people say that funding would have been there for other reasons, but it wouldn’t. That funding would not have existed. It is not as if any mistruths are given, but the whole story is not always told.

“Fellas train hard, they work hard and that is all that they are trying to do. Again, if you look at the bigger picture, if you look at the teams that are winning All-Irelands over the past 10 or 15 years. Are they the biggest counties, are they the richest counties? The answer is yes.

“The preparations for teams are tough and we are trying to do it. Everybody is working together.

“The Kildare county board are not a bunch of pariahs. There are things that have to be changed and we are all trying to do it and work together and it is not easy. They are still trying to prepare underage teams the best, they are trying to do things for the county and it costs money.”

McGeeney argued that Kildare actually generated more income than most other counties for the GAA “pot”, and yet still found themselves being criticised: “€3 million in ticket sales over the last four years, and that is not counting the TV rights and all the other stuff, but they are buying into the GAA ethos like everyone else. That goes back into the pot for those teams that are not producing those ticket sales.

“So it is a wee bit unfair on the people of Kildare to be saying that they are not doing things right. ”

As for the 10 days in Portugal proving decisive in Sunday’s showdown against Tyrone, McGeeney wasn’t so sure: “The thing about training camps is that you probably don’t see the benefit of them until later in the year. It takes a while to recover and get the best out of it. But there’s a lot of positive energy about the squad, a lot of feel-good things, which hopefully will help for Sunday. But we’re playing against probably one of the top teams in the country at the minute, regardless of the division we’re in.”

The Ulster Council has cut admission prices for this year’s championships with the introduction of a new family package. A family of five will be able to attend matches for £24 (€30), with children under 16 gaining free admission to non-ticketed games.