McCarthy: ‘Only the league’ when it suits pundits'

Cork football manager Ronan McCarthy has described as strange the manner in which the media place massive stock on league results during the spring, only to disregard them come summertime. Having managed only one win from their opening six league games, Cork were sent packing to Division 3, but the manager knows full well a sustained championship run would see the setbacks endured throughout February and March quickly forgotten.

The correlation between league and championship form isn’t as strong as it once was, according to McCarthy, who is firm in his opinion that there is an inconsistency in how the media value the GAA’s secondary competition.

“The structure of the GAA competition[s] is strange. At one point in the season, the league is the be all and end all. Seven weeks later, as Limerick hurlers have found out, it is now not important at all.

"So, it is a bit strange that we’ve all this emphasis on the league and then, it can be suddenly disregarded overnight. To me, there is a lack of consistency, in that regard, from people who are commenting on our games.

“Most teams will come away from the league, be it a good or bad league, and know that if you have a good run in the championship, nobody cares what league you are in. That applies to ourselves and to Limerick.”

So should we completely disregard Cork’s league form, should we disregard that Cork lost to Clare for the third consecutive spring, should we disregard that Cork lost all three of their home games?

It is a rod that can be used to beat you with, depending on how you are going in the championship. You’d get the one, ‘it is only the league’, for a team who has a good run in the championship.

What has us discussing the importance of spring fare is Cork’s opposition this evening, Limerick, who secured their place in the provincial semi-final by taking down Tipperary, a team who finished 15 places higher than them in the league. There was Longford, fifth in Division 3, earning a draw last weekend against Kildare, fourth-place finishers in Division 2. There was

Offaly, sixth in Division 3, troubling Division 2 league finalists Meath, while Division 4 London came within four points of Division 1 Galway.

“I don’t know why people are surprised by that. You guys, the media, get carried away a small bit. It is a bit like the Cork-Limerick hurling game. Limerick were miles and miles and miles ahead of everyone, now, they are not anymore.

“What I would say is that the top four teams [in football] have a quality and consistency. Nine times out of 10, they perform. There are real quality teams in the lower divisions, quality players. And on any given day, they can cause real trouble for the opposition.

"You go back to the last time Cork won the All-Ireland in 2010, that night in Limerick [fourth round qualifier], we were absolutely blessed to get out of it. That was a game Cork were expected to win easily. The point is that you have to deliver. For if you don’t, you are vulnerable.”

Such was their difficult spring, following as it did a poor 2018 season, it is not unfair to label Cork as somewhat vulnerable this evening. Their decent finish to the league, where they took four from a possible six points, McCarthy stressed, did help improve morale in the camp, even if relegation was not avoided.

“We are at a point where we can’t take any team for granted. What I have said, and will continue to say, is that I believe the quality of talent is in the group to challenge any team, including the best teams. But we’ve lacked consistency over the two seasons I’ve been in charge. We’ve no right to take any game or opposition for granted.”

The Cork manager continued: “We’ve been on the challenge match circuit for a number of weeks. Those games went reasonably okay. We’re building nicely. I’ve learned over the years that confidence is a very fragile thing. We knuckled down after the disappointment of the league and I think lads are in a quietly confident mood.”

Having been noticeably defensive in the earlier rounds of the league, operating, at times, with two sweepers, McCarthy insisted Cork are edging closer to striking the correct balance between sufficiently populating their own half of the field without weakening their attack.

What happened was people kinda had this notion we were [sitting back] because I said at the beginning of the league that I was looking for us to be more defensively solid.

"People jumped on that. We were trying to get the balance right between being solid defensively and being creative because we would feel there is fierce attacking potential and talent in the team. In the earlier part of the league, we didn’t quite get that balance right. But as it went on, certainly, [we improved], but I still don’t think we’re there.

“I don’t get too tied down to a particular way of playing, but certainly, get that balance right between setting the team up in such a way that the attacking potential we have can express itself out on the pitch, but also make sure we are defensively more difficult to break down than we were at times last year.”