Allen: It was one-dimensional, it was hurling or nothing

JOHN ALLEN can understand Jack O’Connor’s decision to walk away from the inter-county game more than most and the former Cork hurling manager believes the Kingdom coach made the correct decision.

After all, Allen himself walked away from the Cork job last month after seven years with the senior set-up, a period that culminated in successive All-Ireland finals, the first of which Cork won.

“Jack O’Connor did a great job, getting them to three finals in-a-row and winning two of them,” said Allen yesterday. “Fair dues to him for having the courage of his convictions and not being swayed by the public or anybody else. He felt for him that the time was right to go.”