While Kildare have struggled to meet expectations over the last couple of years, comments from their county board chairman have drawn quite a reaction in the GAA world in recent days.
The Liliywhites have experienced a difficult start to their Division 2 campaign, suffering defeat against Cavan and Fermanagh in their opening two games. That leaves them in serious danger of relegation, something that could result in a drop into the Tailteann Cup this summer.
Speaking last week, Kildare County Board Chairman Mick Gorman said that the recent run of results was not good enough (as quoted by the Leinster Leader):
I spoke to the management for a long time today (Monday) about the situation and the necessity that performances and results have to greatly improve.
We are fully aware that results are not good enough, not good enough for the county, and the players and the management are all fully aware of the situation...
All I can say is there has been a lot of talk about managers, management and players, I just hope it can be sorted out.
Kildare GAA Chairman Mick Gorman. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
A person in Gorman's position making such comments at this point of the season is certainly an odd look, one that many feel is unfair to those involved.
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Ciarán Whelan defends Kildare players after chairman remarks
Kildare are regarded as one of the biggest underachievers in inter-county Gaelic football at the moment, having both the playing pool and resources to be competing among the best counties in the country.
While there is sure to be a disappointment relating to their struggles over the last couple of years, many feel that Mick Gorman's comments on this occasion are entirely inappropriate.
Speaking on RTÉ GAA Podcast, Ciarán Whelan defended the Kildare players and hammered their county board chairman for his remarks.
If I'm a Kildare footballer and I'm sitting at home reading what a Kildare chairman has said, I'd be very p****d off.
Last year they didn't really perform well - they had one performance against Roscommon, ran Monaghan close - but there was definitely rumours of difficulty in the background...
There's absolutely no need for the chairman, or delegates, in the middle of the season, to be commenting on the county team. Generally if that happens on county board floors it's done in the off season.
The players are amateurs, young lads, and they're trying to perform in a huge pressure environment. When you're losing you've a lot of noise around you, whether that's in your club, at home or in your work environment.
It's just not appropriate...
It's somebody in a boardroom flexing their muscles, saying 'I'm the boss'. It's a load of rubbish.
It will be interesting to see how the Kildare players react to these comments over the coming weeks, although it's fair to say that there does seem to be a growing divide between the playing and administrative sides of things within the county.
That is something that will need to be sorted out moving forward.
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