Tipp must improve, warns McGlinchey

AFTER coming so close to winning last year’s Munster SFC title, expectations rose in Tipperary that the coveted provincial crown was just around the corner.

Those expectations rose further still following the victory over Clare in the McGrath Cup final at the start of the season. But then things started to go horribly wrong. The Premier suffered a horrendous NFL campaign, including a shock defeat to Waterford as the wheels of the bandwagon seemed to have come loose.

Coach Tom McGlinchey is at a loss to explain away the problem but is hopeful of finding redemption in Walsh Park in the Bank of Ireland Munster SFC on Sunday afternoon.

“It’s going to be a very difficult fixture for us,” the Garda PE Instructor admitted yesterday. “In years gone by Waterford wouldn’t pose too many problems for us but that has all changed. Every county is now putting in the work on a professional basis and I don’t have to remind you that there is no such thing as a soft touch in the championship anymore.

“I’m quite certain Waterford coach Denis Walsh will be saying the same to his players. With a league victory over us already at the same venue, they will be eager to confirm their dominance.

“It’s hard to know what went wrong with our league campaign. Perhaps expectations became too high following last year’s championship performances and players found it hard to cope with the pressures.

“Winning the McGrath Cup whetted the appetite for more but we got off to a disastrous start in the league, losing our two opening games to Clare and Waterford, and all of a sudden we went from being favourites to gain promotion to battling for survival in our group. One thing that didn’t help was our injury problems. We never seemed to have settled teams for the league matches; there was always someone missing.

“To be fair to the selectors we did try out a couple of new players which would account for not fielding a settled team but overall it was a very disappointing campaign which doesn’t help us going into Sunday’s championship opener.

“We are going into the game off the back of a very bad run of form, but I take solace from the fact that Tipperary are great championship battlers and will make a very determined bid to advance to a semi-final meeting with Kerry.”

At the back of it all, McGlinchey is hopeful of a return to the glorious summer of 2002.

“The championship run last year was brilliant. We came so close to winning it the first day and that is what is driving us on this year. We have the potential to reach the final again, but I’m very cautious about Sunday. Waterford football has improved under Denis Walsh. Home advantage will be worth a few scores to them, and I’ll gladly settle for a one-point win. It’s going to be that close in my view.”

Apart from Kevin Mulryan, who is recovering from illness, McGlinchey had a full squad available but, as with most selections this season, has included a couple of championship debutants. He said: “It’s important to keep introducing a few faces every year. It freshens up the squad and keeps everybody on their toes. Declan Browne, Sean Collum and Philly Ryan will provide the experience but we’ll have to play extremely well to get a result.”