Allen: Most Cork players should return

Cork manager John Allen expects the majority of his players to return for the 2007 season, but whether the St. Finbarr's clubman will be in charge of the Rebels next year is another matter.

Allen was giving little away when asked about his managerial future in the aftermath of yesterday's All-Ireland final defeat to old rivals Kilkenny.

Probed on whether he saw the loss as marking the end of an era for this Cork team, he said: "I don't know. That remains to be seen. There aren't many players that are over 30 at the same time.

"Brian Corcoran is over 30, Pat Mulcahy is near 30. Most of the players should be there next year. Maybe we need one or two new players to bolster it, but the backroom team - I can't speak for them yet.

"I'll think about (my own position) over the next few weeks. I've been four years involved at this level and it's a huge time commitment. I'll discuss it with my wife and kids and reach a decision."

Allen had no qualms about the manner in which a tough-tackling Kilkenny side picked up their county's 29th Liam McCarthy Cup, but referee Barry Kelly's decision to award a questionable free against Cork 'keeper Donal Og Cusack in the second half rankled him.

He added: "I thought Barry Kelly had quite a good game generally, but the decision he gave on Donal Og passing the ball - for my eyes, it wasn't a throw, because Donal Og wouldn't throw the ball anyway - that was a vital decision because we were three points down and Kilkenny brought it to four with a very soft free right in front of goal.

"But I'm not making any excuses, that isn't the reason we lost. We lost because we didn't play as well as they did. They hunted in packs. They closed us down everywhere.

"We certainly overplayed the ball at times in the first half but there was so little space out there," Allen said.

The Cork boss also praised his opposite number Brian Cody for getting his tactis right.

"They had a game plan - they closed off our midfield runners, they stood in front of our half-forward line for our puck outs. Fair play to Kilkenny, when you're playing in the big games for long enough, teams can do their homework on you."