'I know that Glenn put his life and soul into that job' - Johnny Doyle defends Ryan

FORMER KILDARE LEGEND Johnny Doyle has defended the work that Glenn Ryan did in his three years in charge of the Lilywhites.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Tailteann Cup final, when Kildare – now under the management of Brian Flanagan – will face Limerick, Doyle believes the foundations for a Kildare revival will be helped by the years that Ryan was in charge.

“I have nothing but admiration and respect for Glenn Ryan as a player and as a person and as a manager,” said the Allenwood man who played several seasons with Ryan and was a selector in his backroom team.

During that time, Kildare contested a Leinster final, but their league form was underwhelming and they lost every game of the 2024 National League Division 2 campaign.

“If I heard in the morning that Glenn Ryan was taking over at Allenwood, I would be excited and I would nearly polish up the boots. Because he is a really good manager, a good people person, very organised and again, just things did not work out,” said Doyle.

“That happens, but Glenn is a good person.

“The world we live in now is an online one and people can say what they want. That’s nearly a world that’s there in the background.

“But the genuine Kildare supporters, when we were at games or at club matches, random people would come up to you and say, ‘Listen, keep at it. Youse are doing good work and it will come.’

“Those are the people you focused on.”

Ryan came in for questioning online and then even among the traditional local media. The frustration all felt over their demise was palpable at the time.

“But it’s like anything in life, it’s easy to condemn the doer, the hardest thing is to commit,” stated Doyle.

“I know that Glenn put his life and soul into that job and the job that he did over three years has contributed to where Kildare are on Sunday.

“We went from our first year in Division One, Dublin drawing the last game with Monaghan, they got a late point and we went to Division Two.

“Little things like that can make a huge difference for confidence and stuff like that.”

Doyle continued, “There is so much for a manager to look after. I was only a small piece of the wheel when I was involved but there are so many things to deal with such as backroom team, media, logistics, analysing the game, county board, sponsors, and all of it points back to the manager.

“It is a tough job, no doubt about it. When things go wrong, people have their own conclusion. We were on a bit of a losing streak last year and some of the stories coming, they were just made-up. They go up onto social media and then they are gospel.

“So, you have to deal with all that and that affects players.

“I would be a very big advocate that your role as a support is to support. These players are in their local clubs, walking down the road of their local village. And that negativity affects people no matter how strong you think you are.”

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