Banner boss has mind only on the hurling

Clare boss Davy Fitzgerald refused to elaborate on his controversial midweek comments when quizzed by reporters after yesterday’s Allianz Hurling League Division 1A victory over Tipperary.

Fitzgerald claimed last week that some Clare players were on “harder stuff than drink” from the mid-2000s, when addressing a group of teenagers in Limerick.

But when quizzed on the matter in Semple Stadium, Fitzgerald replied: “I’m not going to talk [on that matter]. If you want to talk about hurling, we’ll talk about hurling, no problem.”

Instead the All-Ireland-winning boss was keener to praise the “incredible” workrate of his players.

“I was proud of their workrate and the amount of tackles they got in. We missed a few goal chances but Tipp missed a lot too. Any time you come down here and get a victory is great.”

So far this season, it’s been an up and down campaign for the All-Ireland champions.

They lost the Waterford Crystal Cup final against Tipperary by 14 points but have won two of their first three league fixtures.

And Clare now have their remaining two matches on home soil, against Waterford next Sunday and Galway in the final group outing.

Fitzgerald said: “I knew we would have dips. We got up very high for the Kilkenny game and dropped back for the Dublin game. There was no comparison between how we played today and that day.

“I said from the start that we’d go from high to low to high. I expected that. There was a big push to get a performance today, especially after they beat us in the Waterford Crystal.”

He added: “It’s important that we were out and very competitive. I suppose last year they had a vendetta against us because we had beaten them well in the Waterford Crystal and this time they beat us, so it was a case of ‘go out there and give it’. Tipperary were missing a lot of players so when you throw them back in the mix it will make them very strong. I think there’s very little between us.”

Fitzgerald explained his reasoning for starting Hurler of the Year Tony Kelly on the bench.

He said: “Tony had Fitzgibbon [with Limerick IT]; he’s been pulled here, there and every place. As the year goes on, Tony will be flying. The old break will do him no harm.”

But Fitzgerald revealed that Clare’s victory came at a cost as Darach Honan and Seadna Morey sustained hamstring injuries.

Honan limped off in the first half to be replaced by Podge Collins before Morey made way in stoppage time.

Morey’s injury could pave the way for Domhnall O’Donovan’s return to the starting line-up — another clear indication of the strength in depth available to Fitzgerald.

He said: “Yeah, it [Honan] is a bad hamstring and Seadna Morey is a bad hamstring so I have a feeling we will be looking at both of them being out for a while. We have to deal with it and move on.”