Gardiner: Off-field turbulence won’t deter Offaly

JOHN GARDINER has warned that Offaly will have little difficulty in leaving their off-the-field problems to one side when Cork host them at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in the first round of the All-Ireland hurling qualifiers next Saturday.

The midlands county made headlines for all the wrong reasons recently with manager Joe Dooley writing a stinging letter to the county board detailing his team’s difficulties in gaining access to O’Connor Park for training.

Gardiner knows all about strained relations between teams and boards given his prominent role in the Cork strikes and believes Offaly will be fully focused.

“I’m not really too up to speed with what’s going on down there but I presume that they will [be galvanised by it],” he said.

“Speaking from a bit of experience, when the off-the-field issues occur you still have to go on the field and perform. When they step inside the white line I don’t think they’ll be thinking about anything else only the game.”

Whatever Offaly’s state of mind, it will be no worse than that of their midlands neighbours Laois who entered last Saturday’s preliminary tie with Cork at a low enough ebb before being left at rock bottom by the 70 minutes that followed.

“It’ll be a different story with Offaly. We played Offaly in the league and they put it up to us for a long time. We’ve played Offaly as well in the championship above in Tullamore and they’re not easy games. We know what to expect.

“They had a great game in the qualifier last year [against Limerick] but, look, it’s a chance to get back in the championship. It’s where we’re expected. We’ve got to treat it like it’s a Munster championship game or an All-Ireland semi-final.”

Cork’s manager and players talked up Laois’ gutsy first 40 minutes last weekend but the Munster side was always going to win. The 5-7 that flowed in one spell midway through the second period curbed the criticisms of their prowess in front of the posts.

“We don’t hide away from the facts that Cork didn’t score enough goals even when we were getting to All-Irelands,” said Gardiner.

“We weren’t getting goals, it was always points. It’s always been mentioned and, no disrespect to Laois, the chances came a bit easier there for us than they would in the All-Ireland or the Munster championship proper. In fairness to our lads they put them away well, that’s what they’re out there to do.”

Newtownshandrum’s Jamie Coughlan put the last two goals away and, though the back door route was one they didn’t want to take, it may prove a fruitful one given the transitional state of the team.

“Correct. There are a lot of fellas coming onto the panel there so a lot of games should stand to them. Fellas are finding their feet. We’ve fellas like Pat Horgan, Paudie O’Sullivan who’ve probably been there a few years but are still finding their feet.

“It’s unfortunate that Lorcan McLoughlin broke his thumb, he could have done with all these games. You have Bill Cooper coming in there on his debut.

“Stephen McDonnell as well, another newcomer. The more championship games these fellas get the better. To get into the routine, it’s about performing and that’s what they have to do. These games will stand to them.”