Managers insist focus on summer showdowns

It might be a bit early for team managers to be writing off the importance of the league but that was the case for Tipperary and Waterford in Thurles on Saturday evening.

First, Tipperary’s Eamonn O’Shea: “It’s February. We’re five months away from our most serious game we’ll have to play this year [Munster semi-final v Limerick, June 1 in Semple Stadium]. “We’re building towards that. I have no ambitions for the league. The only important game for me — and I’ll spell it out — is Limerick in the championship.”

And the league?