O'Brien not worried about 11-week break as MLR prepare for visit of Naas
Mount Leinster Rangers manager Paul O'Brien Photo: Pat Ahern
When Mount Leinster Rangers take the pitch on Sunday, it will have been 11 weeks since they regained the Carlow senior hurling championship on August 24th.
On the other hand, Naas beat Maynooth (3-15 to 0-16) in the Kildare final on October 12th. Such is the format of the Carlow hurling championships it doesn’t seem quite right that there should be such a gap between the county and provincial competitions.
Yet the Rangers manager, Paul O’Brien, scoffs at the suggestion that it is far from ideal preparation to have to wait so long.
“It's grand. Lads have been playing football. Lads are playing Under-21s and it has been busy,” he says.
Rangers had a mixed football senior football championship campaign with the highlight being their win over Éire Óg. That gave them a place in the knock-out stages but that was as far as it went.
An insipid performance against Bagenalstown Gaels which culminated in a 2-18 to 2-9 defeat saw them make their exit at the quarter-final stage.
Again, O’Brien says his team is as well-prepared as they possibly can be.
“We are not making excuses about anything. We are concentrating on next Sunday. You can put it any way you want, Mount Leinster Rangers are not making excuses. We are good to go next Sunday,” the Dublin native confirmed.
Rangers have only one absentee. Tony Lawlor, who had an excellent county final, is gone travelling. “That is the extent of it,” confirmed O’Brien.
Naas have all the momentum. They have come off the back of seven in a row senior titles.
Admittedly they have failed to transfer their domination into provincial success and haven’t ever been in a Leinster final.
Rangers, on the other hand, won a Leinster title in 2013. It is a long time ago now but the Carlow side have history and have earned the respect of clubs all over Leinster. Since that win, Rangers have always gone into provincial fare without fear.
O’Brien is confident his side will perform on Sunday.
“We have got plenty of work done in Kilcoltrim. At the time of the year that is in it, it is hard to get the right kind of challenge games. Mount Leinster Rangers are good to go, looking forward to Sunday and that is the key thing,” he says.
An interesting situation?
On Sunday, former Rangers manager, Tom Mullally, and former Rangers player, Chris Kealy, will lead the Naas management team against the club they led to such spectacular success in 2013 when Rangers beat Oulart the Ballagh in the Leinster final.
Business is business of course but, in another twist, there is every chance that this year, Christy’s son, Evan, will either start or make an appearance for Rangers over the course of the game.
The Carlow intercounty player will be hoping to end Naas hopes and that of his father and Mullally of taking another step in their quest for Leinster success with two different clubs.
