Work in progress

IT WAS the mystery of the spring. In the league’s early days, when column inches were plentiful, people starched their heads and wondered what happened to Limerick. Despite hoisting Dave Keane up to senior level, the promise of all those under-age heroes was faltering badly against the likes of Offaly and Wexford. Tongues were wagging and enquiries were sought and within a few days, their firebrand leader on the pitch had enough. Or so it seemed.

Mark Foley shifts uncomfortably when you broach the subject of that momentary and false flight from the Limerick team he leads so passionately. Rumour still has it that Foley was most upset at the poor attitude, following some players spending a night on the tiles after defeat to Cork in February. After all, here was the most talented batch of youngsters Limerick has seen in a long time and they were unbothered about reaching their potential. Well, that was the perception.

“Look, this was something that was blown out of all proportion. We are having a laugh and joke about it in training now. Everyone was frustrated by the way the results had went, sometimes you feel like you are beating your head off a brick wall. But, we have improved and made up for it subsequently. That’s the key. It’s better that we are showing a bit of form at the end of the league, rather than if we started the league well and had a dip of form going into the championship.”