New Kildare senior football manager Brian Flanagan won't hold trials for the 2025 county panel.
A former Lilywhite player, selector and All-Ireland under-20 winning manager, Flanagan replaces Glenn Ryan in the hot-seat after a couple of disappointing seasons for the county, slipping back to the Tailteann Cup.
Flanagan was a selector under Cian O'Neill in 2016 but felt he needed to go back down the ladder to ready himself for senior inter-county management.
He became involved in Kildare underage teams, culminating in All-Ireland under-20 glory in 2023.
He stepped away following that season, safe in the knowledge that he was then a 'credible' candidate for the Kildare senior job 'whenever it was to come up.'
He was officially unveiled as senior manager yesterday, revealing his management team of former players Daryl Flynn and Damien Hendy with former All-Ireland winner with Armagh Aidan O'Rourke as head coach.
O'Rourke coached Flanagan as a player under Kieran McGeeney.
"The work he (O'Rourke) did with me in 2010 as a defender and defensively with that group had a huge impact on us," Flanagan told local media on Thursday.
Among many topics, Flanagan spoke about the make-up of his panel for 2025. Trials will not be required from Flanagan's perspective as they pick an extended squad of fifty to begin with.
"I think the greatest trial a player can have is for your club," he said in an interview available in full on the Kildare Nationalist.
"You play against your peers, you play when it’s all on the line now in the next few weeks in quarter-finals, semi-finals, finals. That is the trial."
Flanagan does not feel trials are necessary. He is from Johnstownbridge, Daryl Flynn is from Moorefield and Damien Hendy is from Castledermot, and he is backing their local knowledge and judgement in selecting the best players.
17 December 2017; Daryl Flynn of Moorefield celebrates with supporters after the AIB Leinster GAA Football Senior Club Championship Final match between Moorefield and St Loman's at O'Moore Park in Portlaoise, Co Laois. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
A development squad is part of the plan, and his intention is to have one in place from January to March before those unlucky enough not to be promoted to the senior squad go back to their clubs.
"We bring them in to make up numbers at different stages in our own training sessions, we may even need them for match day and different things like that.
But there’d be a close relationship between the two and then maybe mid-March or whatever the club scene is back up and running so we’d let them off.
"That development squad would work very closely with the senior team (From January to mid-March)."
