BY ALAN RODGERS
A.RODGERS@GAELICLIFE.COM
ROOKIE manager Kieran McGeeney will be aiming to put one over the best in the business when he takes Kildare to Croke Park for a Leinster Championship clash against Wicklow.
While the former Armagh star is entering his first championship in the hot seat, his opposite number, Mick O'Dwyer, is heading into yet another campaign. He was already winning the Sam Maguire when Kieran McGeeney was just starting primary school.
But the Lilywhites will by no means be overawed. And, their other Armagh stalwart, Paul Grimley, is optimistic about their prospects for this clash as well as future championship campaigns.
The Orchard county duo are settling into the task of guiding Kildare back to the big time. However, according to Grimley, it's a long-term process.
"We realise entering this game that everyone is more or less on a par despite the differences in the National League positions. It's a case of adopting a longer-term view of things," he remarked.
"Perhaps Kildare have been under-achieving and our task is to build a team that is capable of challenging for honours during the next few years. It takes time to develop that.
"To be honest, if we had gone on with the previous panel there might have been a short-term gain in terms of results. But I think we may have been storing up problems for the future.
"We had to see for ourselves who was available and capable of making the grade. What were doing and achieving at the moment is a base from which to work from," he added.
To the outsider, of course, the Kildare story for now is dominated by the fact that they were relegated from Division One of the National League. Behind the headlines, though, the story is perhaps not so gloomy.
A couple of narrow defeats against the likes of Kerry and Galway and draws against Laois and Tyrone show the thin line between getting enough points to stay up and facing the drop to Division Two.
Numerous changes to the panel personnel have also highlighted the determination of Kieran McGeeney, Paul Grimley and Glen Ryan to make their mark.
Another positive pointer that they'll be hoping augurs well is the success of the U-21s in reaching the All-Ireland Final. While they eventually lost to Kerry, a Leinster title win and victory over Down at the semi-final stage was a significant achievement.
"Obviously it was never our intention to get relegated, but it's a case of trying to build on that. The fact that the U-21s reached the All-Ireland Final was a good boost to us because five or six of the panel are also on the senior squad," added Grimley.
"We only lost to Galway and Kerry by a point, drew with Laois and Tyrone and were poor enough against Mayo. Morale in the camp is good at the moment and the players have reacted positively to the challenges which have been presented to them.
"This is something that isn't going to happen overnight, it's going to take three or four years.
"The key difference between managing down here and in Ulster is that you have to do a lot more research on teams. In Ulster everyone knows each other so well, that there's not the same need for that, whereas in Leinster you really only know Dublin and Meath to the same extent.
"But apart from that managing in Kildare is the same as anywhere else because you still have to make sure that the players are up to the required standard."
