Kieran Shannon: Does Tipperary’s malaise extend far beyond current gloom?

For the second consecutive Sunday, Tipperary will be outnumbered in the stands and terraces of their own ground.

TIPP NOT TOP: Tipperary manager Liam Cahill, right, and selector Michael Bevans during the closing moments of the Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship Round 4 match. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

More than any other team this weekend is about Tipp. Everyone else might be vying to either make the All-Ireland series or a provincial final or avoid demotion to the Joe McDonagh, but it is precisely because Tipp have nothing tangible at stake that so much for them is at stake.

Like what? Well, the reputation and future of their management team. Whether some of their most loyal warriors of this millennium have a swansong fitting of their service. Even their respectability and dignity as a hurling county.