Allen's focus on Rebel retention
"In Cork, it's the championship, nothing else," he said yesterday.
"For me, winning the All-Ireland is where it's at, that's my aim for the year, that's our team's aim and anything else will not be good enough.
"In the hurling counties, there's nothing else to win but the All-Ireland, that goes without saying."
For proof, Allen pointed to Galway, and the situation that prevailed there late last year.
Manager Conor Hayes, who had won the 2004 National League, failed to win the approval of a specially-convened interview panel, who went instead for All-Ireland minor-winning manager Mattie Murphy; Hayes was then re-appointed only after a mini-revolution by club delegates.
"Conor's last few months bears that out. They won the League, Galway got no Allstar and he was very lucky to keep his job."
Ironically, Allen was speaking at the launch in Dublin of the 2005 Allianz National Hurling League, which kicks off this weekend.
But there was no disrespect meant to the competition. He was merely reflecting reality.
"There's probably a mindset change needed for the League," he said.
"The second stage of the League is vital for all the teams, you've got three high-quality games. For us, while I'd love to win the League, blooding players, finding new players and getting good quality games is what it's about."
So there it is then. While Brian Cody of Kilkenny, and Hayes himself, both of whom were with Allen at the launch, stated categorically that they would be going full out for the League, the new Cork management team will be taking it as it comes, their eye very firmly fixed on May 22, and their opening Munster championship date with Waterford.
Speaking of high-quality games, don't expect a repeat this Sunday of Cork's last competitive game, their brilliant second-half display in the All-Ireland final win over Kilkenny last September.
"You're talking about two totally different seasons," Allen said.
"That was at the end of the year, where we'd had a lot of good games, came through the back-door system where we had three or four games in a short period which certainly helped our preparations, our tactics etc.
"How we play next Sunday, it's early days yet, we're training at night in mud, we don't have that much hurling done, probably as much as every other team, which isn't much.
"There can't be any comparison between the movement we had last September, and the movement we'll have next Sunday. We'll be going out with a good few of last year's All-Ireland-winning team and of course there's an expectancy there.
"The image of Cork and Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final, how well we did in the second-half; I'd like to see that bubble alive until May 22, our first big match.
"The League is the ideal build-up for any team in the championship, you have eight good quality games in 10 weeks. I'd love to win the League, but to find a player or two is the objective. We're going out to win, but hopefully we'll have a slow build-up to May 22, and hopefully (again), further."
It's a tough opening assignment for Allen, facing a Limerick side looking for revenge for two opening round League defeats by the minimum margin over the last two years, a close championship defeat last year compounding the Shannonsiders' misery. This is a game they will be targeting.
Adding to Allen's problems this weekend, however, is the new controversial yellow-card experiment (which he opposes), and the restricted 24-man panel, reduced from 30 for the past couple of years. Nevertheless, he feels comfortable in his new role.
"Training has gone well and we had a great holiday. Sometimes the manager gets all the praise, and gets the other side too, but I have a good management team.
"The transition has been very easy, the fact I was involved with basically the same group of people for the past two years made it that much easier. I've got two extremely good trainers, a dedicated and hard-working bunch of selectors, medical people and physios.
"It doesn't do the playing for you, the players do that, but it does make the transition easier.
"Having only 24 going to games could be a good thing. You were taking 30 over the past couple of years, and realistically, five or six of those knew they hadn't a chance of playing. Now every one of the 24 has a good chance of playing."
As for the opposition.
"Limerick are dangerous. They have a lot of very good players, many of whom have won All-Ireland U-21 medals, and a stroke of luck might turn the corner for them. We had that over the past few years, we had U-21 teams that won back-to-back U-21 titles in 1997/'98. Those players are now the backbone of our team. 1999 was a watershed for this team, a lot of them were involved in an All-Ireland win that was against the odds, and most are still playing."
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