Power: Tipp can achieve senior success

TIPPERARY minor football boss David Power is hopeful Sunday’s Munster title can be a springboard to success at senior level.

The gulf that exists between Cork and Kerry and the weaker counties in Munster has generated plenty of recent debate but in his own county, Tipperary, Power insists progress is being made.

And he maintains several counties from Connacht and Leinster would also struggle if they had to face the last two All-Ireland senior champions, Cork and Kerry.

Power hopes his side’s stunning provincial final triumph against Cork on Sunday which secured Tipperary’s first title in the grade since 1995 will be an inspiration to other Munster counties that they can get rewards if they work for it.

“Sunday was a culmination of the work that’s been going on with the development squads. I’d have an influence in those development squads and you should see all the work that’s going on. It’s not just one person, it’s a whole group of people working hard.

“I just feel if we can hold on to these lads for a few years, we can do something like this at senior football. It was great to get to four Munster finals in six years but we needed to win one. It wasn’t just about competing in them, you need silverware.”

“The criticism from The Sunday Game people is out of order and I’ve said that before. But I’d ask if you put all the Connacht teams and 10 of the Leinster teams into Munster, how well would they do against Cork and Kerry?

“Ourselves and the other counties are trying our best but consider that of Cork and Kerry, at least one of them if not both, will be in the All-Ireland final this year. We are in a tough province.

“You’ve two choices, forget about it or work at it. We’ve to lift our game and work at it. That attitude paid off for us on days like Sunday. We were representing today all the so-called weaker counties in Munster. I just hope that this presses home that if you put in the hard work and effort in, it’s there for you and you can beat the likes of Cork and Kerry.

Power believes the decision for the squad to stay on Saturday night in the River Island Hotel in Castleisland was vindicated in the performance they produced in defeating Cork by 3-11 to 1-9. With an early throw-in for the minor decider at noon, Power felt it was too far a trip for the Tipp panel to embark on the morning of the match, as exemplified by the fact their Loughmore-Castleiney contingent would have faced a journey of nearly three hours. Instead the squad relaxed close to Fitzgerald Stadium and watched the world heavyweight title fight between Wladimir Kiltschko and David Haye.

“That was crucial. We couldn’t go down on the morning of the game given the early throw-in and if we did, I don’t think we would have performed the way we did. It helped us relax the lads. Even from South Tipp, it’s over two hours to Killarney and then we also have lads from North Tipp on the team.

“People say it’s not good having young lads together in a hotel but that’s not the case. It’s about relaxing and it was great for them.”