Rebels facing a tough challenge against Tipp, cautions Counihan

Former Cork football manager Conor Counihan says the Rebels face a “tough challenge” this weekend in their Munster SFC opener against Tipperary.

The 2010 All-Ireland-winning boss adds that player absences have hampered Cork’s preparations, but he admires Tipperary’s consistency: “You have to look at them and where they are and where they were. The league performances were consistent, they’ve been to an All-Ireland semi-final, Stephen O’Brien is back — they’re consistent and it’s going to be a tough challenge for Cork.

“But Cork have a lot of good footballers if they can produce it on the day. The league campaign was disappointing from the point of view that Cork missed fellas, there were some injured and some away with Nemo on their All-Ireland club run. You’d just hope they can put it together on the day.