Eoin O’Neill: No excuses for Rebels

Cork football selector Eoin O’Neill wasn’t hiding this week. After seeing his side ship 4-25 against Roscommon last week, there wasn’t any point in sugar-coating the situation.

“It’s very disappointing. I suppose one of the only positives was the display of Peter Kelleher, he’s a young guy who’s doing well for us. He’s shown well in training and so on, he was one good thing out of it.

“Outside of that, you wouldn’t pick too many other bright points. There are no excuses from us, it just didn’t work out on the day. Everything worked out for them, it was one of those perfect storm jobs. They don’t happen too often, but when they happen, there’s not much you can do when the flow goes against you.

“I watched the video again and I thought we were doing well up to about 15 minutes. We were there or thereabouts, but then they got going.

“This is something we have to adjust. In the last couple of years with Cork, when a team has gotten a couple of points ahead of us, it just seems to implode a little bit. They get five or six points ahead, and then there’s no coming back from that.

“That’s something we’re very conscious of, and it’s something we’re very keen to work on when we get on the field.”

O’Neill said lack of on-field sessions wasn’t helping Cork: “That’s been one of our other issues, we’ve been on the field seven times since January. It’s been very hard to get pitches. That’s not an excuse, don’t get me wrong, but it’s also the reality. If we can get over that and get some more time on the field, hopefully we can start implementing the stuff we’re trying to do, because on Sunday, it just didn’t go right and we didn’t have the work done to adjust to what was happening.

“But no excuses. Roscommon were excellent, a good, strong-running team who may be a little underrated. We certainly didn’t take them for granted.”

O’Neill added that the commitment of the players wasn’t in question.

“It’s difficult, we’re trying to develop new players as well, and they have to be playing against guys who are on the standard when they come in. If a new guy comes in and he’s marking Paul Kerrigan in training, he’s bound to improve.

“Good players training on good players get better, but we just haven’t had the access for that. The lads are very good, they’re very committed — we’ve all been very impressed with what they want to do, how much they want to learn, and the likes of Eamon (Ryan) has been doing specific stuff with them on the field and they’ve responded well. You train well — and then you’ve a week without a field.”

Cork met on Monday night to discuss the defeat, when feelings were still raw.

“Fellas were gutted,” said O’Neill.

“I spoke to a few of them and they found it hard to get up out of bed, but as my grandmother said: ‘The sun’ll come up tomorrow and you’ll have to get up’.

“They’re grown men, we all are. It’s a tough gig but that’s Division 1A football, no-one will have mercy on you and no-one will have mercy for us on Saturday.”

Tomorrow it’s Dublin, the form team in the country: the last side you’d want to face after a defeat like last Sunday?

“You have to look at that the other way, too, and see the game as a good thing,” said O’Neill. “You could turn around and say you’re playing a lesser team, but against the very best teams, you have to be there, you have to be right.

“We know we’re not that bad as well, with respect — having Dublin in front of us on Saturday is a challenge but the lads have faced them plenty of times over the years, they know what to expect. Results aside, we’ll be looking for a performance. To get these guys back playing the way we know they can play, and to go from there. It’s step by step. It’s still early in the league and there’s a lot to play for.”

Management have worked hard this week, he adds. Ryan’s experience has helped.

“He’s bringing an awful lot to it, as everyone does. Being level about this is the key to it. It’s all about the performance, and adjusting that, but adjusting it properly. Not having a knee-jerk reaction. We’ve done a couple of good things in the last couple of games, and we’ve done a few bad things. But what we have to do is keep our feet on the ground, and Eamon is a voice of reason. He’s been around.

“There’s a lot of enthusiasm from some of us and it’s tempered with his experience. That’s a good dynamic for a dressing room. That side of it has been exceptional.

“When we’ve had the chance to be together on the field, it’s been very good, we just need more of that.”