Players agree to board talks

CORK’S striking hurlers last night agreed to resume negotiations with the executive of the county board — but warned that substantial progress still needed to be made on a number of issues.

The players made the pledge after hearing the board executive's commitment to progress at a meeting in Pairc Uí Chaoimh on Tuesday.

The hurlers said last night they were encouraged by the assurances from the board that every effort should and would be made to deal with areas of concern.

However, the players are bemused at the view that the row is close to a resolution after the board's olive branch on Tuesday night.

Talks are expected to recommence early next week, once new members of the executive have been installed by Sunday's annual board convention.

The players are likely to agree to a move by incoming board chairman, Jim Forbes, to reduce the negotiating teams to four per side.

"We are anxious to resolve the matter and are prepared to re-enter negotiations based on the assurances even though these assurances could equally have been made at any time before or after the press conference," a statement said.

In the interim, the hurlers will continue their withdrawal of service action. The players met last night after studying the document from the outgoing selectors and the comments of the board executive at Tuesday's meeting.

However, there is still substantial concern at the absence of a firm commitment on long-distance travel to games, food, and medical expertise at away games.

"We stand over all our statements made to date and note the board has not agreed publicly, as we requested, to move substantially on all these issues.

"However we take them at their word for the good of Cork hurling."

Meanwhile, the board executive will waste no time in putting a framework in place for the appointment of a new senior hurling coach.

They want the new coach in situ and training the senior panel by the beginning of next month.

The decision of board delegates to give the new coach the right to hand-pick is selectors is clearly a boost to the process.

The board has traditionally been anxious to select a high-profile candidate to train the senior team, though a return to the fold by Jimmy Barry-Murphy, Gerald McCarthy or double legend Teddy McCarthy is considered unlikely.

Blackrock coach Timmy Murphy and former All-Ireland winning skipper Tomas Mulcahy are both seen as strong candidates. So too is the former Imokilly coach, Seanie O'Leary, though he fired a broadside last night at the executive's selection process last time out.

He said: "I don't know who they (the seven-man executive committee to select a coach) have in mind, but if they make the same hash of it as they did last year ringing people the night before the county board meeting was on, asking them if they'd like to become selectors wasn't very impressive."

O'Leary added: "Eight weeks they were given to do that job, and yet they were still ringing people at the last minute.

"Who's to say that they'll do any better this time, with the same individuals involved and headed by the same man? That was ridiculous."

The seven-man committee is made up of four members of the executive, including county secretary Frank Murphy, with three club delegates.

While O'Leary doesn't question the right of that group to do the job, he warned that with so much at stake now, their approach will have to improve on last year's debacle.

"That group is entitled to be there, but they'd certainly want to be a lot more professional in their approach this time.

"They need to establish what way each individual, plans to do things. They'll have to do a better job, a fairer job, because it was a bit farcical the last time."

On the possibility of his own interest in the job, the selector from Cork's 1999 All-Ireland victory added:

"I haven't given it a thought. Anybody taking the job would want to

see that the board was genuine, that the players were genuine and that everyone was happy and able to get over what's happening at the moment.

"Anyway, there are plenty of fellas around, a younger group who finished in the 90s, maybe it's time for one of those to step forward.

"But there's a lot to be done. It's nearly semi-pro now, for whoever goes in there.

"It was always a terribly difficult job. I hope the players benefit from all of this furore, and I presume they will. This action should have been done years ago we've all been guilty, the fellas who took it in the 70s and the 80s."

He said: "Put it this way, if the job is advertised, I won't be applying for it. I wouldn't be going after any job."