On the back of the league, some counties will be more confident than others about their chances of a strong run in championship. Questions will certainly be asked about Kildare.

The Leinster side were relegated from Division 2 after a very poor campaign. They would lose five games on the spin as they finished second from bottom.

Of course, as last year’s Tailteann Cup winners, Kildare will still be in the Sam Maguire this summer.

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Keegan baffled by struggles of one GAA county

Considering the resources at their disposal, Kildare’s continual underperformance at senior level has been baffling to see. In contrast, their hurlers have gone from strength to strength over the last few seasons.

It is all the more concerning when you consider the county’s success at underage level in recent times. The county have won two U20 All-Irelands, with manager Brian Flanagan stepping up to the senior side over the last couple of seasons.

Writing in his column for RTÉ, Lee Keegan admitted he found it difficult to fathom how the county have struggled so much over the last few seasons.

Kildare remain a perennial enigma – the Spurs of Gaelic football…

They lost their last five games in the league and are back in Division 3 next year. This from a county that’s won two Under-20 All-Ireland titles in the last decade…

Their malaise is harder to fathom when you consider the potential within the county, evidenced by the aforementioned Under-20 titles…

I played against [Brian] Flanagan and he was a tough, steely bit of stuff. I thought he might bring more of those qualities to that Kildare team but we’re yet to see it properly.

Kildare will face Laois in a Leinster quarter-final this weekend, a fixture that looks rather tricky considering their recent run of form.

While the county will have the All-Ireland series to fall back on later this summer, few are expecting them to advance deep into that particular competition.

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