Westmeath manager Tom Cribbin believes that Kildare will once again play a defensive formation when the sides meet in the Leinster SFC semi-final on Sunday week.

The Lilywhites adopted the approach in their last game against Wexford and Cribbin is confident that they will use the same tactics again at Croke Park.

Having seen his side come away with a one-point win against Offaly last weekend, Cribbin must now turn his attention to his native county and the battle for a place in a second consecutive Leinster SFC final.

And the former Offaly manager knows that his charges will have to step up a gear against Kildare if they are to record the win.

"Yeah, it'll be a tough game," Cribbin told the Westmeath Examiner. "Kildare will probably have learned an awful lot in the last three or four weeks.

"They went very defensive against Wexford. It probably wasn't the prettiest game, but I think they were working on a game plan for down the road.

"It's not easy to play these defensive game plans. It's very hard to get your players to adapt to it and adjust their mindset, because your own crowd and public will turn on you as well.

"But we'll be looking forward to that game. It's up in Croke Park, a good big pitch."

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