Rebels’ wait for silverware too long, admits Cronin
Speaking after he picked up the award for hurler of the year for his season with Bishopstown at the Reardens All Star team announcement, Cronin maintained that the current Cork squad just needs one trophy to build momentum and provide the confidence to challenge for an All-Ireland.
“It was 2005 when we won the last Munster and the last All-Ireland so hopefully now we can give Munster a good rattle and see how we get on and that would give confidence to the team massively going forward,” Cronin said.
“You could see how close we were to an All-Ireland final this year (beaten by Galway in the semi-final) so if we had a Munster final or a league final victory over us it would provide massive confidence.”
Senior managers John Allen, Gerald McCarthy, John Considine and Denis Walsh have all come and gone without making a contribution to the trophy cabinet.
The loss of several senior players hasn’t helped Cork’s cause but Cronin believes manager Jimmy Barry-Murphy is capable of turning the current crop of players into All-Ireland winners, insisting the squad has made progress under his stewardship and are not far behind the likes of Kilkenny, Galway and Tipperary.
“We’re not that far off. Jimmy came in over the year and gave confidence to a number of fellas and gave them belief.
“He kept saying to play with abandonment and gave freedom to play which is massive and you could see how players reacted to that.
“We improved leaps and bounds on last year from being hammered by Galway up in Limerick to being a really competitive team.
“Even when you look back in 1999 when I was a young fella supporting Cork, Ben O’Connor was only a young fella at that time, he threw him straight in at Championship and I think it’s a sort of similar thing now going forward.
“He’s given great confidence and belief to the younger lads on the panel and if you’re showing form he’ll throw you in there, no problem, and I think that’s the way it should be.”
With Seán Óg Ó hAilpín having announced his inter-county retirement and John Gardiner and Niall McCarthy excluded from Barry-Murphy’s 2013 squad, only three players — Tom Kenny, Dónal Óg Cusack and Brian Murphy — remain from the starting 15 that secured the Liam MacCarthy Cup against Galway in 2005.
Having made his inter-county debut in 2007, Cronin knows he now represents a senior figure in the squad and believes he is part of a group of players who need to step up and provide leadership if Cork are to deliver next season.
“There’s a core group of lads who played minor together, myself, Hoggie, Paudie, Nash, Shane O’Neill, these lads all have to step up now and take the weight on their shoulders for next year.”
