Louth GAA club | Kermode: Hopefully we can get the job done

Newtown Blues manager, John Kermode, remained calm as he prepares to lead his side into Sunday’s Anchor Tours Louth Senior Football Championship final against Naomh Máirtín.

Kermode has lived through glory days and knows better than most the expectation that surrounds a final like this. When speaking if preparation has gone well, he said: “I don't know about quite well. We'll see on Sunday.

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“We'll see how we come out on that end of things. But yeah, happy enough with how things are going this season. Obviously, everyone knows at the start of the year how long the season is and then obviously the transition into the new rules.

“It's just taken us a while to get used to that thing, and yeah, we're where everyone wants to be. The biggest game of the club season is on Sunday.”

The league campaign brought its fair share of challenges for the Blues, with several key players unavailable due to inter-county commitments and injuries.

“People always say, oh, they're missing their county boys, but it wasn't just that. It was obviously (Conor) MacCriosta and Ryan Kelly with the U20s.

“Iollan Farrell was up there for a while. He came back with an injury, and he was out for four months. Liam Branigan missed most of the league, and Ciarán Cluskey.

“We had a ton of injuries, and look, it's good to be honest with you because we were playing with five or six lads who were minors.

“They got loads of exposure to Division One football, which is going to be great for next year and for the following years to come, and that's what we were building the foundation on.

“You look at the step up of MacCroista, Ryan Kelly, and Eoin McCoy this year, getting that exposure last year to Division One has helped, so hopefully that exposure this year for those minors will help next year for the club.”

Momentum

With players returning and younger talent stepping up, the Blues found their rhythm as the championship progressed.

“It's still a work in progress. Obviously, Monasterboice beat us the first day out. We had a lot to improve on, a lot to work on, and just as we say, you have to get better as the games go on.

“You have to get better in the group stages, the quarter-finals, the semi-finals. In each game, you have to improve and get better. Hopefully, we can go one better than the semi-final and make a better performance and get the job done on Sunday.”

Jocks defeat

Their earlier round defeat to Sunday’s opponents, Naomh Máirtín, provided an important lesson for the group.

“That would have been the message to be honest, all year. Nothing's won until it's won. We do watch Gaelic football. We've watched Louth in the National League.

“I think Monaghan were in double digits ahead of them, and Louth clawed it back to three points. The new rules just don't allow you to sit in comfort.

“I know people are starting to get their head around it, but obviously we had a lot of lads involved with Louth and we've seen what it was like over the year. A two-point lead, a three-point lead is nothing these days.

“It's literally, I know they say a kick at the ball in terms of a goal, but even the two-pointer is just causing mayhem for teams now. You just have to keep going forward.”

Attacking play

For Kermode, the attacking ethos of the Blues has always been central and one that’s carried from his playing days into management.

“Definitely take it on. If the opportunity's there, like I obviously played with the Blues senior team. That was the philosophy then, that's the philosophy now, and that's the philosophy I'll continue with.

“You encourage all the lads. We have a nice spread of scores. It's not one lad carrying the scores on the chart for us.

“One day it could be (Andy) McDonnell, one day it could be (Conor) Brannigan, (Ciarán) Downey chipping in, Daire Nally, or Conor McCroista.

“We kind of have a lot of spread, and it's always that encouragement to take the scores when they present themselves. Back yourself.”

Consistency

The Blues’ attacking flair has been matched by a growing consistency across the pitch as the season has worn on.

“The consistency's getting better as the year has gone on. Definitely, as the championship has gone on, the consistency is starting to get better.

“It probably dropped off in the semi-final in terms of a couple of areas. Hopefully, we can rectify where they went wrong and bring a bit of that consistency back to it. In terms of our shooting efficiency, we need to get that back to where it should be.”

Familiar opponents

Naomh Máirtín have been one of the Joe Ward Cup final regulars of recent years and are well known to the Blues.

“We know who Monasterboice are. We've played them many times over the years. They'll be obviously favourites going into this game.

“They've probably contested eight of the last nine Championship finals, so we're under no illusions that we're going to be up against them. They have all the experience.

“All their players would have experienced championship finals, whereas we've got a lot that are only coming in to their first championship final.

“We've probably got a couple of older lads in terms of Brian (Kermode), who hasn't played in a championship final in a long time. We kind of have to get a house in order in that sense.”

Experience

While some of the Blues players carry medals from past triumphs, Kermode is realistic about the weight of that history.

“I'll be honest, I don't think it's going to have any factor in terms of the game. Obviously, it's great to have that experience, but since that time Monasterboice have come and won two Championships.

“They've been involved in a couple of finals since then. So, in terms of that recency of experience, I think they kind of have that upper edge on us in that sense.

“We're coming into it looking for that Joe Ward to come back to Newfoundwell. It's been a number of years, in fact, too long for us in that sense, so I think that's where we're kind of looking to push on.”

Expectations

The manager admits there wasn’t much external pressure on his team this year.

“There is an expectancy around Newtown Blues, but you know a lot of people in the county wrote the Blues off. A lot of people in the club would have written us off. There was no expectation in terms of delivering a Joe Ward.

“Everyone had other teams ahead of us, probably four teams ahead of us, even probably more than that.

“We were in the bottom six of the league, so in terms of expectation, when we did get our Louth boys back, I still think there was a bit of they won't deliver, they're not ready for it.

“I don't think there was too much expectation, so we're kind of going in with not that kind of weight on our shoulders on Sunday.”

Defeating St Marys

With the Drogheda side stopping Ardee St. Marys bid for four in a row the championship landscape shifted.

“There would have been a lot in terms of weight on Ardee’s shoulders. We had that experience for the four in a row in 2020.

“It does carry a lot of bearing on things, especially if you have to start, you can't have the same lads going to the well for three or four years.

“It kind of caught up with Ardee like it caught up with ourselves, and that kind of expectation is something hard to deliver on.

“Maybe that kind of has opened the doorway for other teams, and I know when we defeated Ardee in the quarter-final, I think a lot of the other clubs were thinking the door was there for them to break through it.

“I know Monasterboice, there would have been expectations at the start of the year for them to deliver. They were beaten in two finals by Ardee before, and I think the expectations for them would have been let's win Joe Ward.

“So yeah, they would have had the expectation to deliver at the start of the year.”

Two attacking teams

With both teams committed to attacking football, Sunday’s final promises to be an exciting game.

“As I said, that's our kind of philosophy. Let's attack, let's get scores on the board. Let's work the goals when we can. Let's take the shots on when they present themselves and most importantly, give it to the man in the best position.”