Cian O'Neill was refusing to subscribe to the theory that Croke Park has become something of a graveyard for Kildare after Saturday's shock defeat to Armagh.

It was the Lilywhites' third defeat at GAA headquarters this year and their 17th in 22 games going back to 2011 when current Armagh boss Kieran McGeeney was at the helm. But O'Neill insists that playing in Croker doesn't pose any psychological obstacles for his team.

"There's an obvious trend that can't be denied, but if you look at the matches themselves, one was a league final against Galway, so you're playing a team of equal ability who are going to be in Division 1 next year. One was a Leinster final where you are playing the best team in the country (Dublin) in recent years," the Kildare manager is quoted in the Irish Daily Mirror.

"This one is the one that will really rankle with us because we felt we were in a really good space coming into this match. What happened two or three years ago was irrelevant to us because this is a totally new group, with a totally new system.

"Last year, it was a very young and inexperienced team and we got disappointingly defeated against a Westmeath tea that, like Armagh, we should have beaten. But I don't think it's down to Croke Park, that's a faulty logic.

"We just didn't perform when it mattered most."

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