Anthony Daly: Limerick to stay alive and a Doomsday kick from Wexford

Who would I prefer to be, John Kiely or Pat Ryan, in this scenario? The obvious answer is John but, being totally honest, I’d much prefer to be Pat

CLASH: Limerick's Cian Lynch with Tommy O'Connell of Cork during the league clash in February. Pic: INPHO/Evan Treacy

In the modern bubble of inter-county management, everything is controlled, dictated and directed from within the group. Outside noise is irrelevant. Innuendo is ignored. The contagion of speculation, rumour and loose chat is firewalled so strongly by the group’s culture and defence mechanisms that the system is consistently prevented from being infected by any glitch or bug.

And yet, how can you contain everything, keep out everything, in an amateur game? These players don’t live behind high-walled mansions. They can’t escape to their weekend retreat house, or jet off to a private villa for a few days. They have jobs. They go to college.