ANTRIM’S Eoghan Campbell has put the Saffron’s win over Clare in perspective this week.

He has warned against any over-excitement about the win, and pointed out that the season does not hinge on one result.

“We got off to a good start (beating Clare) but if we don’t build on it then there is no point talking about it. We are going down to Kilkenny to get a performance, we are not going to admire Kilkenny.

“We are up in Division One now, If we want to progress then these are the teams that we need to play week in and week out. Kilkenny have been the standard for 25 years or so. They are the team we want to be playing.”

The reaction to Antrim’s win over Clare was huge, as many reports branded it a shock.

Yet the hype around the result does not match the mood within the camp.

Campbell said they got over the elation of the win immediately.

“The final whistle went and we were delighted to win. It was the first league game and there can be a bit of rust. No matter who you are playing, to get that first win is good.

“After the warm down we just said that it was a win and it was done and dusted.

“That is something that stood to us last year. When we were playing league and championship. It was always the next game. There was no thinking about games down the line.”

While some felt that the win was a surprise, Campbell said that they expected to play as they did.

“The performance was what we expected. People would say that we have been up in Division one in the past and nearly beat teams. Anyone within the panel would have been confident on our own processes, in how we play and how we use the ball.

“We went there expecting to win and we will go to Kilkenny expecting to win.”

So what was different this year compared to previous years when they hadn’t won?

Campbell said: “We have our processes. I wouldn’t say game plan but we have processes that we stick to. We focus on us and what we want to do. We went out and played the way we wanted to. We didn’t allow them to dictate to us. Maybe in the past when we played against a big team we changed a bit.”

And Campbell said that the result says nothing about Clare either.

“Clare are a great team. They will bounce back from this. We are not bad hurlers. We are able to compete with anyone. There is belief in our team that we can compete with anyone.”

So this weekend they now face Kilkenny and they have the pressure on them to follow up with another result.

“We are far from being the finished product. That was the first day out. There are lots of things we have to improve on.

“To be honest we are going up against a team like Kilkenny who have been the standard when it comes to work rate, so it will be an attritional battle this weekend.