Ahead of this weekend's Allianz Leagues match between Kerry and Kildare, Marc Ó Sé and Emmet Bolton are looking on the bright side of each county's league campaign to date. Speaking during our Checkpoint Challenge at Joe Mallon Motors, Bolton believes that Kildare have 'consistently been improving' over the last seven weeks, and another good performance in Tralee would provide a major boost ahead of the Championship.
While the Lily Whites may well be relegated it's not all doom and gloom, given the age profile of the team and the fact that their displays have been decent, despite the results:
Consistency now is their big thing at the minute. They've been putting in some good performances and they've been getting a couple of lads back from injury as well. You're two games out from the championship, you need to be getting consistency into your game and to be fair to them they've been doing that. It's just that a couple of results haven't gone right for them.
It's a game I'm really forward to. We've a couple of lads back now that will make a big difference for the team. Will they beat Kerry down in Tralee? I don't know but you're just hoping for a good performance.
Kerry are not out of the relegation waters either, sitting just two points ahead of Donegal. Should Kildare beat them and make up another two points on the Kingdom on the last day of the league, then Kerry will find themselves playing division two football next year.
However, provided they beat the drop, they can look back at the league campaign as relative success given the amount of new players Éamonn Fitzmaurice has unearthed. Marc Ó Sé is pleading with Kerry fans to give the team a chance to develop.
I think the step up from minor level is huge and you can't underestimate that, and these guys have taken to it big time. They're adjusting to senior football, they've found it tough at times but we have to be patient with this group of players. It's not just going to happen, you can't expect fellas to go from a minor team straight into a senior team and to perform. It will take time so I think the Kerry fans, they have to be patient and realise that this is a good group of players but it will take for them to show what they can do.
The match throws in at 7pm on Saturday night in Austin Stack Park, Tralee.
