GAELIC GAMES/ National Football League, Division One B: Ian O'Riordan talks to Kildare manager Padraig Nolan about the remarkable turnaround in the county's fortunes as they prepare to venture into the heart of Armagh football.

As the National Football League heads towards a cliffhanger of a finish for the second year running, that picture of uncertainty is perfectly illustrated by Kildare. Beat Armagh on Sunday and they can safely think about making the semi-finals. Lose and they could yet fall into the final battle against relegation.

Their current form suggests they'll at least avoid the latter. Although both Galway and Wexford handed them unnerving defeats, Kildare have now won three matches in succession, including an 11-point hammering of Limerick last Sunday.

And they'll finish off on Sunday week with bottom-placed Sligo. Given the time of year it's tempting to describe all this as a resurrection or even a second coming for manager Padraig Nolan.

While that might be overstretching it, he's certainly brought new life to a team that last summer saw their championship interests end before July for the first time in five years.

Yet for Nolan, who is now three years as the Lilywhites manager, Sunday's journey into the heart of Armagh football simply marks another game - and certainly not something that could yet define the whole season.

"We're just taking it as another game really," he says. "We've still haven't quite guaranteed our place in Division One. I suppose it almost is, but another two points will definitely make sure it is. I know last year Meath were relegated on six points, and Galway qualified for the play-offs on eight. So depending on the results across the board we could end up in that situation again."

John Doyle has recovered from the leg injury that ruled him out against Limerick, so Kildare will be at full strength, and need to be. Armagh are joint leaders of Division One B with Wexford, and Joe Kernan is keenly rebuilding that invincible aura around his team.

The most important thing for Nolan, however, is that his team have rediscovered their best form: "It comes down to a mixture of a few things," he explained. "We had a few injury problems at the beginning and they've cleared up. And then we gradually got back to playing more football after doing a lot of weights over the winter.

"But your confidence will always grow from winning matches, and that has been the case for us. But nothing was changed midstream. The plan was to follow a strength programme up until the middle of February.

"And while the panel always evolves, I'm very happy with the panel we have at the moment. I think we've a very good mixture, from Glenn Ryan and Anthony Rainbow right down to younger players like James Kavanagh and Tommy Archibald."

Beating Armagh automatically boosts the confidence of any team, and for Kildare the prospect of making the semi-finals will provide some added motivation for the trip to Crossmaglen.

And yet Nolan insists this is not a game they had singled out to win from a long ways out.

"The fact is, when you're playing five weeks in a row you have to take each game as it comes, and you can't really look at the overall picture. The games come on so fast that it's just a case of regrouping on the Tuesday night and then try freshen them up again for the next one.

"But players still spend a lot of time training, especially when it comes to the championship, so I'm definitely a fan of more matches. The faster they come on the better. Players want to play matches, and for the last five or six weeks we've done nothing except plan for matches. And that's what players want.

"So staying in Division One was our utmost ambition. There is an opportunity now to go for the play-offs and I suppose we'll now be doing our very best to win this one."

Nolan's management skills have also evolved over the years. He's gradually moved on from Kildare's trademark of inexhaustible stamina developed by his predecessor Mick O'Dwyer, and despite an avid interest in athletes, he's stuck to the modern school of thought where players will rarely run more than 10- or 20-metre sprints in training, and leaves the long distance runs for personal mind-clearing exercises.

Sunday's clash with Armagh will test Kildare's current form to the limit but the potential reward of a league semi-final will ensure the effort is total.