Johnny Doyle defends former Kildare manager Glenn Ryan
Michael Bolton
Former Kildare footballer Johnny Doyle defends former manager Glenn Ryan for his time in charge of the Lilywhites.
After some difficult years, Kildare are prearing for the Tailteann Cup final against Limerick.
Croke Park will not only provide the opportunity for silverware, but also the chance to return to the All-Ireland championship.
Under the three years of Ryan, Kildare dropped down to Division Three, and last season saw them compete in the Tailteann Cup, in what was final year in charge.
For Doyle, he has nothing but respect for Ryan, and says he built the platform for Saturday.
"I have nothing but admiration and respect for Glenn Ryan as a player and as a person and as a manager.
"If I heard in the morning that Glenn Ryan was taking over at Allenwood, I would be excited and I would nearly polish up the boots. Because he is a really good manager, a good people person, very organised and again, just things did not work out.
“The world we live in now is an online one and people can say what they want. That’s nearly a world that’s there in the background.
“But the genuine Kildare supporters, when we were at games or at club matches, random people would come up to you and say, ‘Listen, keep at it. Youse are doing good work and it will come."
A county who have always had quality players, it has been a long time since Kildare have been able to compete at the very top
For Doyle, consistency has been the biggest issue for Kildare, and called for patience to let the team develop.
"The quality of a player to a point is there, but the biggest issue over the last number of years is being able to back up a performance with another performance.
"If they do that, it builds confidence into players. We would have lost a couple of players over the last couple of years through travel and injury. Slowly and surley we are bridging that gap.
"There is a lot of good talent coming through, and it is being able to harness that, and the players themselves understanding that. We live in a world where people want things to happen straight away.
"It could take two or three years to break into a team. I do think there is green shoots there, a big part of that would be winning on Sunday."