Brian Fox says exodus from Tipperary has been overstated

It isn’t that Brian Fox is contrary; he just sees things a different way.

It wasn’t the fact Tipperary beat Cork last month that told him they have reached a higher level of maturity; it was how they killed off the game that convinced him they’d taken the next step.

“I’ve definitely heard people say it to us before we are too honest and should take more fouls, especially last year with the U21s when they lost to Tyrone. They were definitely accused of not being cuter and that’s a learning process because every time you go out you have to learn something from the last time.

“We got three black cards in the end against Cork, two lads pulled down lads against Cork because we were two points up. And, to be straight about it, they said we are not going to let them walk in for another soft score, two points up in injury-time.”

If they are fortunate to find themselves in the same position tomorrow, Fox assures Tipp will embrace the necessary evils. As long as they don’t disappoint themselves as much as they did last year in losing the Munster semi-final by six points.

“We overreached last year. I don’t know whether it was because we got to the U21 final, and confidence was high, fellas were going out saying they were going to beat Kerry. That was a huge statement. While we played well at the start, we didn’t take the chances when they presented themselves to put Kerry under enough pressure for the rest of the game. You really need to put Kerry under pressure to test their mettle.

“We got two goals and missed about four or five chances which would have put a lot of space between us and them. When we didn’t they were inevitably going to get their patch and they are clinical, they don’t miss when they get their chances.”

Fox also takes an unique viewpoint on the players Tipperary lost this season. Unlike his manager Liam Kearns, he believes the extent of the exits has been exaggerated.

“We weren’t decimated. Ten of the team that started against Cork did so against Cork two years ago. The profile of the fellas that left was big, Paddy Codd, our captain, Barry Grogan has been a talisman for how many years; Ger Mulhair was playing wing forward and then the three boys that were high-profile (Colin O’Riordan, Steven O’Brien and Seamus Kennedy).”

If truth be told, Fox is annoyed that even in the afterglow of a famous win over Cork the emphasis is still on those who are missing and just how strong Tipperary would be travelling to Killarney with them in tow.

“It’s what you hear from other players, you hear it in the media, you hear it on the street, well-wishers would be saying, ‘Congratulations,’ but they’d also be saying, ‘They are a big loss.’ It takes away from the fact that this group of players that we have achieved something very special in beating Cork.”

The Éire Óg-Annacarty man never lost sight of what was most important – the players who were sticking around. “You are thinking about games, you are not thinking about players not there. You are thinking he is a loss alright but how do you replace them and you are thinking how are you going to fix it.

“The boys that have come in are as good if not better. Bill Maher, as far as I am concerned, is a superstar. He has an engine in him that would beat anyone and we are delighted to have him. Colm O’Shaughnessy has stepped in to fill the big boots of Paddy Codd. Some lads have stepped up their game because maybe they took a back seat with the other lads that were there.”

And maybe, just maybe, the fact that this final is more of a be-all and end-all for Tipperary than it is for Kerry may prove an advantage.

“I can’t speak for Kerry. They have an abundance of medals. Do I think they will be as hungry as we are? No, but they’ll still want to win in their own backyard. They are Kerry, they have this innate want to win. We are looking at it from the point of view of winning a Munster title, we are not looking at All-Ireland series. They have one eye on trying to prepare for that, you can’t blame them, that’s where they want to be at the end of the year. They don’t measure themselves in Munster titles, they measure on All-Ireland titles.”