Tipp boss Babs fights back after Ryan criticism

TIPPERARY hurling boss Michael ‘Babs’ Keating has responded to stinging criticism of his management style by ex-Limerick manager Tom Ryan by describing Ryan as an “arsehole”.

Speaking to Seamus Martin on the Tipp Today programme on Tipp FM, Keating responded to Ryan’s comments earlier in the week by saying: “To me Tom Ryan is an arsehole and always has been an arsehole.”

In response to Martin’s suggestion that Keating was “over the hill”, the Tipp manager said: “That’s quite possible, but the thing about that is he’s saying that without having any idea what’s happening in Tipperary. John Leahy is a young man, so he’s saying John Leahy is over the hill. I work very closely with John and Tom Barry.

“I regard Tom Ryan as being over the hill, a man that’d stand on his arse and didn’t move, and watched Limerick being beaten in an All-Ireland. If I’ve to talk to Tom Ryan for advice, both myself and Tipperary are going very bad.”

There was general surprise when Tipperary superstar Eoin Kelly did not take the frees for the Premier County last Sunday against Limerick in the drawn game. Keating took the opportunity yesterday to state that this was not a source of conflict within the squad: “There was no conflict there. Eoin hadn’t been playing, he didn’t take the frees for Mullinahone. Willie had been taking the frees since the Galway game and had been taking them particularly well.

“Then there was the fact we put Eoin full-forward and I wanted him to concentrate on that and not taking frees. That was the reason. Eoin understood that, Willie understood that. If we hadn’t a player like Willie it would be different.”