Injured Kildare star Rob Kelly says Kieran McGeeney's men are well over their disappointing NFL campaign and have their sights set on another lengthy championship run.

The Straffan clubman, who is set to miss the rest of the season with a cruciate ligament injury, admits Kildare were disappointed not to challenge for promotion from Division 2 of the NFL, especially after the great progress they had made last year.

"We would have been aiming for promotion," he said.

"But the way we were training, the big thing was always the championship. Everything was geared towards that. The ball didn't bounce our way in a few games. We showed what we were capable of in some others."

The Lilywhites open their Leinster SFC campaign against Louth in Navan on Saturday with supporters expecting them to at least reach the Leinster final. But despite the fact that Dublin, Meath and Laois are stacked on the opposite side of the draw, Kelly isn't taking anything for granted.

"I don't know if you can say there is a good side of the draw in the championship. It is a whole new ball game. You never know who is going to come out to surprise you. If it is Dublin, Laois, Meath, we will prepare the very same way."

The 22-year-old is confident that the last year's experience, when Kildare came close to beating both Dublin and Tyrone, will stand them in good stead this summer.

"We are a seriously young team. When you look back at it, experience might have been the thing that stood against us last year. We hadn't been in those situations to the same extent of someone like Tyrone. Tyrone were that bit smarter but that'll stand to us this year," he added. Tweet

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