ANTRIM manager Darren Gleeson says the Championship meeting with Dublin is not on his mind as the Saffrons travel to Parnell Park for Saturday’s League meeting with he Metropolitans.
The teams will reunite in Navan on June 26 in a Leinster Senior Hurling Championship quarter-final, but League points are the only thing on Gleeson’s mind as Antrim look to bounce back from their defeat to Kilkenny at the weekend.
The mindset from the start of the Division One campaign is that each game is there to be attacked and won on its own merit, so there has been no thoughts of respectable performances or glorious defeats.
Points are needed to not just consolidate their place in the top flight, but also push on and learn how to win games against established Division One teams and that will be the approach again on Saturday.
“It’s a good opportunity for both counties to feel each other out and put two points on the board to get themselves bedded into the competition,” said the Tipperary native.
“The competition we are in is still wide open and everybody will have an eye on Championship, but for us now, it’s just about getting ready (for Dublin).
“The six-day turnaround is going to be tough but hopefully we will do enough to bring another performance and be ready for Saturday.”
Antrim got plenty of credit for their performance against Brian Cody’s Cats at the weekend as they battled back from nine down to level at one stage, but Gleeson was unhappy with aspects of his team’s play in the opening period when they looked a little off the pace.
Kilkenny put immense pressure on teams coming out from the back and this led to Antrim going long down the middle which was meat and drink to a player of the calibre of Pádraig Walsh as the ball came straight back up the field.
Antrim did settle and begin to get into a better flow in the second half and this is the type of performance Gleeson insists his players must deliver over 70 minutes each week of they are to progress.
Gleeson didn't feel his side got up to speed quickly enough against Kilkenny 
“We just didn’t get to their level,” he acknowledged.
“It wasn’t nervousness or awe - we just didn’t get up to the pace of the game and when you don’t work hard, you won’t get to that level of the game.
“In the second half we did work hard, but from eight to 15 (in the first half) we didn’t bring the work-rate we look for and we just have to learn to be consistent against the bigger teams.”
Kilkenny looked as though they could cut loose on a couple of occasions last Sunday, so it was testament to Antrim’s mental strength they were able to drag themselves back into contention.
There was no ‘hairdryer treatment’ at the interval, but simply a reminder of what the team is about and a challenge to raise their game to get to grips with the Noresiders.
That message was taken on board and Gleeson said it was an invaluable learning experience for his players who will get better from the experience.
“It was a very level and calm dressing room,” he insisted.
“We challenged the fellas and when we do that, they give us the answer as they are good lads. They understand the small things they weren’t doing in the first half and brought that to the table in the second.
“We didn’t make use of the sin-bin either. That was a big 10 minutes for us and I’d say Kilkenny outscored us, but we didn’t push on.
“We had the goal chances that we didn’t take, but it’s learning curves. This is a young side so this is a great place to come and learn.
“When you come down to Nowlan Park, if you don’t learn off these lads (Kilkenny) then you are never going to get to the level you want to be playing at.”
