McIntyre looks for positive reaction

CORK hurling fans aren’t the only ones anxious about the outcome of tomorrow’s NHL clash with Galway. Take the Tribesman’s boss John McIntyre, for one.

The Connacht outfit were sensationally defeated by Anthony Daly’s Dublin in Parnell Park a fortnight ago, meaning the visiting manager has spent the interim pointing out a few home truths to his squad. His mission statement for tomorrow? Short and simple according to McIntyre.

“This is a game Galway have to win and I make no apologies for saying that. We’ve to be up for the match in a way that we weren’t for Dublin and we have to have a professional approach to it.

“We were off the pace and it was a very poor performance from start to finish. I don’t want to take away from Dublin. Anthony Daly has them buzzing and they’re a difficult team to beat in Parnell Park. We deserved what we got — and that was nothing.”

And what lessons must be learned? “Our players need to be tuned in for the challenge that’s facing them. It’s a no-win match for us, one of those games where sometimes the result is what people anticipate and on other occasions it can be a real war of attrition.”

In two previous stints as Offaly manager, McIntyre had the difficulty of assembling a team while some key players were tied up through Birr’s involvement in the club championship. This has also been a problem for the last few years in Galway, mainly with Portumna.

“I can’t deny it has an impact and judging by the way they played in Thurles last Sunday, all those guys who are on our squad are a huge loss. At the same time, it’s a bit of a double-edged sword in that it affords other players — individuals perceived as being on the fringe — the opportunity of staking a claim for inclusion.

“There is another opportunity for them in Páirc Uí Chaoimh and it’s important for fellows to be sending out the right signals even if it is only going to be the first Sunday of March.”

He agrees that they can only come up with a settled team through a process of trial and error. And that’s not going to happen in the space of a couple of months.

“You can’t be making hard and fast decisions about players at this time of the year, but having said that there are opportunities there for individuals to put their best foot forward.”

He has given no thought to the possibility of his team doing what Dublin and Tipperary failed to achieve and run up a big score.

“The way we played against Dublin, on that form we will struggle to get a result in Páirc Uí Chaoimh — and that’s not being diplomatic. That is reality. I saw those young Cork players in the match against Tipperary and in the first 25 minutes if you were uninformed about what was happening in Cork, you wouldn’t know which team had the off-field crisis.

“The more experience those young players are getting the better they will become. The first match out against Dublin would have been a kind of intimidating experience for them in many ways. They would be wondering ‘how far off the pace are we going to be, are we good enough for this at all.’ Then Dublin got three early goals.

“They shoved it up to Tipperary and played some nice hurling along the way. They are all very capable performers.

“In theory, the longer the campaign goes on and if they can avoid a bad beating along the way they will gain in confidence.”

But he hopes not at his team’s expense. He believes Gerald McCarthy will get the best out of the players he has.

“I remember seeing him play for Cork back in the 70s and he was a tough competitor. He doesn’t concede ground easily. He’s obviously a proud Corkman. He has those players with him in extremely difficult circumstances and they will be very united. And we have seen it in the past before where that red jersey inspires players to a level above maybe what they are perceived to be capable of.

“The situation in Cork has dragged on and has become more bitter, I think, than anybody thought it would. The players that are lining out for Cork are very brave men in the circumstances. I just hope that a solution is close at hand. We all want to see Cork being able to put out their most accomplished fifteen and at the moment that is not happening.”

But all that sentiment will be parked tomorrow: “At this moment in time I’d like to be travelling back on Galway on Sunday evening with two points in the bag. It’s immaterial to me how we do it once we get a result.”