Brennan: Fitzpatrick loss a huge blow to Cats

Kilkenny legend Eddie Brennan fears that James ‘Cha’ Fitzpatrick may be the one player the All-Ireland champions simply cannot do without.

Brennan, 33, announced his retirement from inter-county hurling following last year’s All-Ireland final — with eight All-Ireland medals, 10 Leinster titles, four National League titles and four All Star awards.

Fellow 2011 panellists PJ Ryan, Michael Kavanagh, John Dalton and Fitzpatrick, just 27, followed suit as the Cats lost five of last year’s All-Ireland-winning squad.

And Brennan warned: “No matter how strong a panel is, I think you can only suffer so many blows. And I think [with] Cha, it’s a huge disappointment not to have him in there.

“His form coming up to the [2011] All-Ireland was excellent. He hurls with his brain the whole time and he may be a loss to Kilkenny before the year is out.

“He’s the biggest loss of all to this Kilkenny squad but the man made a decision and you have to respect that. There’s no point crying over that — it moves on and it’s a chance for someone else. There are plenty of young lads and the likes of Richie Doyle, Cillian Buckley and Aidan Fogarty have the chance to cement positions. It’s a great opportunity for a new face or two to make a name for themselves this year.”

Brennan, speaking to the online Out in Front podcast, has also called on TJ Reid, captain in 2010, to “step up to the plate” this season.

“Brian will want to win the league but what he’ll be more concerned about is the one or two new faces and how they perform.

“We’ve seen in the last five or six years under Brian, two or three new faces making their way onto the team. Richie Hogan is the prime example — he’s cemented his place on the team and I just hope to God that the injury doesn’t upset his season. He’s developed into one of the key forwards for Kilkenny, along with Richie Power, Henry [Shefflin], Larky [Eoin Larkin] and Colin Fennelly. It’s a big year for him — TJ Reid really has to step up to the plate now. He’s been floating in and out.”

Looking ahead to the summer championship, Brennan has warned of a renewed challenge from Kilkenny’s fierce ancient rivals Cork.

“Cork have emerged as very real contenders. They have all the ingredients in place and the appointment of Jimmy Barry-Murphy was a big plus. He’s an icon the length and breadth of Ireland.

“They have a nice blend of young lads coming in and they don’t have the baggage, the disappointments of a few defeats. They have no fear going into it and we’ve seen traditionally in Cork that they’re able to spring up a team overnight. I’d be very wary of Cork this year. Confidence is a big thing and if they hurl with confidence, they’ll be very hard to stop.”