O’Shea keeps it short and snappy

Tipperary boss Eamon O’Shea delivered short, snappy answers in deadpan fashion when quizzed by reporters after yesterday’s Allianz Hurling League final.

O’Shea’s demeanour hinted at internal dissatisfaction after Kilkenny claimed a second successive League crown at Tipp’s expense.

O’Shea was clearly not in the mood to discuss his side’s defeat at length after this extra-time epic. “It was just a game. We lost the game by a point – I don’t believe in lucky and unlucky,” was O’Shea’s first answer.

And when asked what the difference between the two teams on the day was, he replied: “There was no difference.”

O’Shea was then offered the chance to discuss the positives from Tipp’s display and he acknowledged: “The performance of the players. Very good performance – I really thought the players really played well. I thought the performance was outstanding – my players were outstanding. Anybody in this group who criticised this group of players, I think you need to think again.”

The refereeing of James Owens was a topic for debate at full-time but O’Shea refused to criticise the Wexford whistler. He said: “It happens in a game – it happens in a game, up and down, you get ebb and flow.”

And O’Shea insisted there is no danger his players have invested too much in this year’s League – an accusation levelled at the players following the 2013 campaign. He added: “I thought it was a great game, a fantastic game to watch and for our players to play in. But we’re just focused on this game at the moment. I’ll think about it during the week. Really proud of the players – thought they were outstanding..”

One reporter suggested to O’Shea he was not going to say ‘an awful lot’ and the Kilruane MacDonagh’s man replied: “I’ve got really good players in the dressing room – what else do you want me to say? Brilliant match – hope ye enjoyed it. A game like that will bring you on. Great to play a game like that.”

Another reporter wondered how losing another big game to Kilkenny might impact on the Tipperary psyche and O’Shea snapped: “I don’t feel like you feel.”

In extra-time, O’Shea decided to bring a core nucleus of players in and out of the fray rather than running through his squad. Seamus Callanan, John O’Dwyer and John O’Brien were brought in and out and O’Shea insisted: “We were happy with the players that were in there. When you’re involved in a game like that, the tempo is such it’s hard for players to come in off the bench. I was happy with the players we had and the players we’ll use again. The decision to use the players, in the tempo of the game, was my decision really.”

Asked for his views on the two penalties, O’Shea shrugged: “Referees are there to give penalties.”