Sean Cavanagh says that Kildare boss Cian O’Neill created the "perfect storm" to set his side up for their shock win over Mayo.
The Lilywhites exited the Leinster championship in the quarter-finals at the hands of Carlow, a display described by the former Tyrone man as "lethargic and low in confidence".
But the ‘Newbridge or Nowhere’ saga that was orchestrated by O’Neill worked perfectly and the surprise victory over last year's beaten All-Ireland finalists means that Kildare are just one game away from the Super 8s
"Cian created the perfect storm," Cavanagh told The Sunday Game.
"His players had to respond and they did respond.
"I’ve been involved in many ‘siege mentality’ [situations] and you could just see the energy, the power that was in those Kildare lads.
"They were going there yesterday with a very different approach to what they did in that Carlow game
"He would have been telling them behind closed doors ‘the world’s against in here, we’re taking on Croke Park, we’re representing every club, every county in Ireland every club’.
"That really told in their performance."
