Foley out to break Limerick’s championship lame duck

MARK Foley has a clear vision of where the Limerick hurlers should be later in the summer — not so much a case of where he would wish them to be, but what can be realistically expected from a team which has fallen steadily from the high of a Munster final appearance four years ago.

While the other Munster counties will be talking in terms of getting to an All-Ireland final, the challenge for Limerick is to win a game, to gain respectability and most of all, to regain their confidence.

General disappointment with the return from their League campaign during which manager Padjoe Whelahan departed in dramatic fashion was offset by the reassurance that the team did improve towards the end, says Foley.

"That was the most important thing. At least we could see we were on an upward curve. Events off the field dominated the headlines for a while and that had an unsettling effect. At the same time, the buck has to stop with the players on the field. And we feel we did underperform.''

One direct outcome of the change of management has been the return of hurlers Stephen Lucey and Conor Fitzgerald. The issue of dual players was a bone of contention under Whelahan's reign and previously, towards the end of Eamon Cregan's involvement. Foley emphasises the importance of this move.

"Limerick is a small enough county. We need all the players we can get and they have added greatly to the squad. It also gives us a few more options.''

TJ Ryan, last year's captain, looks like being reintroduced to the attack seen as the most likely replacement after Seanie O'Connor was injured a few weeks ago while Foley himself is gearing up to playing at corner- back.

"They have tried TJ there and it has worked out fairly well. It looks like he will be playing there. I have been playing at corner-back more or less all year. It's a huge change from last year (when he played at midfield). You're happy to be picked anywhere and while I haven't played there before, it's a new challenge. I'm looking forward to it.''

Whatever perception the outside public may have of Limerick, Foley accepts that performances in recent years haven't been encouraging.

"If you look at the top hurling counties, we see ourselves near the bottom. We have had little success. Our only championship win in the last few years was against Kerry (in 2003).

"Given that kind of background we couldn't be rating ourselves highly. It's all very well to talk about potential, but you have to turn that into results. That's the ultimate challenge for us this year, to try to get a win under our belt. If we can do that, you might get a bit of confidence and things could start to go from there. At the moment, we see ourselves at the bottom looking up at the rest of the counties.''

While agreeing that Limerick have "a decent enough" record against Tipperary and manager Joe McKenna had a history of outstanding performances against them, Foley says that "doing well" and winning are two different things.

"We did well against Tipp last year (in the qualifier competition). We weren't given much of a chance coming into the Cork game before it and it's a similar situation this year facing up to Tipperary next Sunday.

"And yet, we were only beaten by one score in both of those games.

"We're looking to pull off a result. To be beaten by two points or 10 points wouldn't make much difference. It's all about winning. The new system gives you at least four games, which is great. It gives you the chance to bring a team together, which is what Limerick are trying to do.

"Definitely we'll be a stronger team at the end of the year than we probably are now. Having said that, if we get a win on Sunday it would kickstart us along that line. It's great that you have that chance to play a number of games and to improve things. But there's nothing that brings on a team more than winning games and that is what we are aiming to do.''

However, he accepts it won't be easy, expressing the view that Tipperary are always formidable opposition.

"They have a lot of talent there, if they put it together they are capable of beating anyone in the country.

"Every year people have notions about teams that would be generated through their league performances, but to a certain extent a lot of that would go out the window come the championship. Tipp will be firing on all cylinders. They will be very difficult to beat.''

Foley doesn't doubt that Eoin Kelly presents a major threat to Limerick prospects, commenting that while he has been on the scene a relatively short time, he "has produced it" so many times.

"To focus on him wouldn't be paying the other players respect. There's more to Tipperary than Eoin Kelly, even though he's their top forward.

"We can't afford to take our eye off the other forwards. A lot them are capable of doing a lot of damage. The idea will be to limit them all."