Canning: Players must accept blame

Joe Canning has expressed the hope that Anthony Cunningham will remain on as Galway hurling manager and pointed the finger of blame away from the sidelines and at the players themselves.

Cunningham delivered a first Leinster title to Galway before taking Kilkenny to a replay in the All-Ireland final in his first year in charge, but 2013 has proven to be nothing short of disastrous for the side.

Despite that, Canning believes the management team still has much to offer and declared “all the lads” would be more than happy to see Cunningham and Co. remain at the helm for a third straight season.

However, coach Matty Kenny stepped down earlier this month, leaving just Cunningham and Tom Helebert in charge, as Galway officials consider their options and Canning rued the loss to the backroom of the Tynagh-Abbey-Duniry clubman.

“It’s a disappointment, all right, especially from my point of view. I thought he had a lot to offer. He trained us, getting us to the All-Ireland last year and winning the Leinster title.

“The players have a lot to answer for, more than the management. We’re the guys out on the pitch playing the match, so it’s disappointing to see him go. He has his reasons. I’d like to wish him the best of luck.”

Canning is still only 24 years of age but he has seen any number of managers come under pressure in his limited time at the elite levels of the game, one of them being Davy Fitzgerald, his former mentor at Limerick Institute of Technology.

The current Clare manager guided his native county to a first All-Ireland final in 11 years with their defeat of Limerick last Sunday and yet he continues to have his detractors.

A fiery nature on the sideline is just one of the petards used to hoist the former All-Star goalkeeper but Canning believes the force of Fitzgerald’s personality will stand to his young charges in the coming weeks.

“He loves the media building him up to be something he’s not. I suppose he gets a bit of a buzz off it, in a way. He knows himself...he’s a very smart guy when it comes to hurling, obviously a smart guy in general.

“He’ll have the team ready the way he wants it to be and he doesn’t really care about the outer circle. That’s the way it should be. It’s ideal, really, because he’s taken the focus off his team.

“Because people...you’ve asked me the question there [about his sideline persona] so you’re not asking me about the actual Clare team. It’s working. It’s taking the pressure off the team and letting them hurl. That’s the way he wants it.”

Canning expressed regret at the absence of his own Galway team when asked if he had expected to see Clare hurl in September. Galway’s hopes now rest with their youngsters.

The U21s face Clare in an All-Ireland semi-final in Thurles on Saturday while the minors are in a strange kind of limbo given the controversy over Hawk-Eye’s role in their defeat of Limerick last weekend.

Canning didn’t appear all that disposed to the idea of Limerick being awarded a second chance, although he did express his support for Hawk-Eye’s continuation.

“It was just a mistake on one day and everyone makes mistakes and it does add to it. There are still lots of questions unanswered.”