In the past, he has had a foot in both Clare and Tipperary camps but Len Gaynor speaks as a follower of the blue and gold.

For the €25 or whatever Fergie is asking, you could learn about leadership this week from a man who has done it all and may never stop cashing in. Or you could have saved a few bob and pulled into a field in Ardcroney, six miles outside Nenagh.

“Hit it hard, hit it hard. I’ll get it.” That was Jimmy Doyle’s refrain in training. He never liked a soft or a lobbed pass sent his way. No matter how hard it was hit, he could control it, often stopping it dead.