John McGrath not worried by Loughmore's extra workload: 'It’s what we have grown up with'

For the 16th weekend in a row, Loughmore will be out in championship action where they hope to exact revenge on Clonmel Commercials in the Tipperary SFC final

John McGrath of Loughmore/Castleiney after the drawn Tipperary SHC Final between Thurles Sarsfields and Loughmore/Castleiney at Semple Stadium in Thurles, Tipperary. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

John McGrath insists Loughmore-Castleiney’s senior football final appearance this weekend will not be a negative as he plans for a Tipperary SHC final replay against Thurles Sarsfields at the end of the month.

For the 16th weekend in a row, Loughmore will be out in championship action where they hope to exact revenge on Clonmel Commercials this Sunday for last year’s narrow final defeat.

Thurles will have two weeks to prepare for the hurling decider but as Loughmore chase more silverware McGrath wouldn’t want it any other way.

“I don’t know if it does or not,” he said when asked if Thurles have a preferable run-in to the replay. “ I suppose it (football championship) has freshened up for us, it’s a chance to switch off from it maybe and we are used to it now.

“We don’t think about it too much. It’s just what we have grown up with and just what we are used to, so we have two more big weeks.”

McGrath didn’t see any fatigue in his team in the closing stages of Sunday’s drawn match. “It’s hard to see any issue there in the last 10 minutes or that. We went eight down and we were still able to fight our way back into it. There are positives and negatives to it, but I think there’s a huge benefit in playing every weekend. We are battle-hardened and I think it’s maybe a soft excuse to complain about it.”

Loughmore are on an incredible journey but in-form McGrath maintains they don’t reflect on it much. “You try not to think about it too much at times. We are probably aware of how well we are competing and that’s what we have been brought up with. When I was young that’s just the way it was — you competed in both very strongly and long may it continue.”

The 27-year-old admits the final whistle was a letdown for Loughmore when it appeared they were going to have an opportunity to attack.

“It’s a bit of an anti-climax, that’s just the way it is,” said the two-time All-Ireland winning Tipperary forward.

“We put ourselves under pressure early on and a couple of goals put us on the back foot. But we rallied well, and we worked our way back into it.

“We worked hard and got stuck in and hit the breaks. That’s what you have to do at this time of year.”