Experience v Enthusiasm
The coach is affirming instructions about the need to stay perpetually focused with fresh gusto, just three days before Nemo take on Limerick kingpins Monaleen, in the Munster club final.
Alan Cronin, meanwhile, is sitting out training after picking up a minor knee injury last week.
“I had a slight knee twist in training on Sunday, it felt weak, so I’ve decided to rest it for the week. It’s only a precaution, it will be fine.”
Cronin, a superb ball carrier who’s averaging about two scores a game this year, has been central to keeping Nemo on track for a third successive All-Ireland club final.
The Nemo players are still trying to find the missing edge to another All-Ireland win. Cronin believes the necessary ingredients are there this time.
A county final win coupled with a six-point demolition of Kerry champions Kerins O’Rahillys, suggests Nemo still has the fuel to make the final destination.
“This group of players has been together for the last three or four years. There’s no doubt that defeat is killing, but once the start of the season comes around, the hunger returns.
“After we won the county, our aim was to win a Munster club title, hopefully after we win that one; it’s going to be an All-Ireland.”
Cronin, a mercurial talent with flowing locks, knew the regrouping process was completed when John Egan’s Bishopstown was dispatched in the Cork county SFC final. And the filleting of O’Rahillys confirmed the old efficiency was still intact.
“There was a bit of added pressure because there was no team in the club that had won three counties in a row. Then we came up against O’Rahillys. That game really showed us we’re seasoned campaigners.
“When it comes to Munster football it’s more a dog eat dog kind of style, and we're used to that.”
He unravels the mysteries of club football with a clarity that bears all the hallmarks of a man who has two Munster club medals, after playing senior with the club for only five years.
“It’s about the nitty-gritty of the game and making sure that you get and keep the ball. There’s no real tactics when you get to that stage; it’s all about getting the result.
“We didn’t go down to Killarney to wipe O’Rahillys off the field or anything; we just went there to do everything possible to get a win.
This knowledge would be futile however, if the desire to keep going had faded. The two All-Ireland defeats to Crossmolina and Ballinderry convinced many that Cronin and Co is an ebbing force. He disagrees.
“Trying to describe the hunger that keeps us going is difficult, but I know that it has a lot to do with team morale. If I was competing in an individual sport and had lost two All-Irelands, it would be much harder to come back and do it again.
“But when you’ve 15 people around asking you to go to training and making sure you play in the next match, that’s a completely different thing.
“Then it’s not about picking it up for yourself; you are doing it for all the other guys as well, because they are putting in the same effort as you.
“This year has been different to the last couple, mainly because there has been a perception that we're dead and buried. We showed a lot of character to come back and win a third county in a row.”
“I think we're more united than we ever were. Defeats in an All-Ireland really bond a team, if they survive it. Losing is devastating but you have to keep looking forward and try and take some good out of it.”
Reluctant to focus on his own role in the team, Cronin believes he has many miles to travel before developing into the ideal forward.
Indeed praise for his ball-winning ability is frequently tempered with criticism of his profligacy in front of goal, indicating that Cronin’s undisputed talent is still in the mix.
“I came in at the right time and have played in four county finals, so that's not bad. In the next couple of years I'd like to be a senior member of this panel, who has realised my potential.
“This year I’m happy with my performances and I think that I've been playing very well. I got a man of the match along the way, so I haven't gone too far wrong.”
Again bringing attention back to the bigger team picture, Cronin believes the need for redemption on the tuft of GAA headquarters is injecting more passion than any motivation expert could ever uncork.
“This year has been different to the last couple, mainly because there has been a perception that we're dead and buried. We showed a lot of character to come back and win a third county in a row.”
“I think we're more united than we ever were. Defeats in an All-Ireland really bond a team, if they survive it. Losing is devastating but you have to keep looking forward and try and take some good out of it.”
Reluctant to focus on his own role in the team, Cronin believes he has many miles to travel before developing into the ideal forward.
Indeed praise for his ball-winning ability is frequently tempered with criticism of his profligacy in front of goal, indicating that Cronin’s undisputed talent is still in the mix.
“I came in at the right time and have played in four county finals, so that's not bad. In the next couple of years I'd like to be a senior member of this panel, who has realised my potential.
“This year I’m happy with my performances and I think that I've been playing very well. I got a man of the match along the way, so I haven't gone too far wrong.”
Again bringing attention back to the bigger team picture, Cronin believes the need for redemption on the tuft of GAA headquarters is injecting more passion than any motivation expert could ever uncork.
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