It was unexpected, but Kildare's victory over Cork in the All-Ireland football qualifiers has given the side a real shot in the arm after a disappointing year.
Relegation from Division 2 to the Allianz League had been followed by a heavy Leinster championship defeat to Dublin, while the departure of two players (David Hyland and Darroch Mulhall) for America compounded the mood in the camp.
But Kildare's Emmet Bolton says the latter development in particular had a galvanising effect on the remainder of the team as they prepare for an All-Ireland quarter-final against Kerry.
Speaking to Off The Ball tonight, he said: "The easy thing to do is to jump ship and the hardest thing to do is go back training and listen to the flak and try to get yourself going again. The majority of the lads have been through that before - that you're going through the qualifier route. So it was nothing new to us.
"A lot of these lads are coming from the U21s rank and they're young lads and they're heading off and they're having the craic and enjoying themselves. You can't really begrudge them that if you're 30, 31, or 32 on the panel. But it was disappointing. Maybe it was the easy option to take. But we stuck the head down and it probably galvanised us a good bit as well going forward."
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
