Kingston: Cork players 'affected' by criticism that followed Limerick loss

Cork’s manager Kieran Kingston

Cork manager Kieran Kingston has claimed his players were "affected" by the negative criticism that followed their loss to Limerick in the opening stages of Sunday's Munster SHC defeat to Clare.

Insisting Cork lost the game “in the first 20 minutes”, Kingston believed the team were impacted by the fallout which followed their 11-point reverse against Limerick in Páirc Uí Chaoimh last month.

Asked if that disappointment which followed the Division 1 final loss to Waterford had hurt the group’s confidence, Kingston replied: "You get to an All-Ireland final as we did a year ago, there wasn't any expectation around the group. 

"You lose it obviously and you have a good league campaign and you get to another final, I think expectation increases among everyone and that's understandable.

“With that comes plaudits when you win and criticism when you lose. We all know that, that comes with the territory, and you know that because you are writing it, or getting people to write it. You (journalists) know that well.

“After the Limerick game and all that happened in the two weeks since, what was said by different people has affected players as well. People are entitled to their opinions. 

"I thought we showed a bit of nervousness on the back of that, definitely in the first 20 minutes and on the scoreboard, 11 points down at one stage with 14 minutes to go. I know there was a wind but there wasn't that much of a wind.” 

Kingston defended the character and commitment of his players. “Expectation brings that but that's part and parcel of the game. Pressure is a privilege in this environment. If you couldn't deal with criticism or couldn't take pressure, you shouldn't be in this game, player or management that's the way it is. I've a backroom team here of over 20 people and we've 35 on the panel, they're extremely hard-working people.

“We all do this on a voluntary basis and we give our heart and soul to it, as do the players and that's the way it should be. We're proud to do it and we're proud to be involved with Cork hurling. I know those players, they're gutted in there, they're really hurting, as we are. But we're proud to be involved with Cork. Any pressure, any outside noise ain't going to change how we feel about that.” 

Clare scoring the next three points after Ian Galvin’s sending off was not the pivotal period of the game, Kingston maintained. 

“Look, that wasn’t the winning and losing of the game. I think the first 20 minutes we lost the game.” 

Needing to beat Waterford in Walsh Park on Sunday week and Tipperary in Thurles on May 22 to stand a chance of reaching the All-Ireland series, Kingston acknowledged Cork’s fate is out of their control. “We can't change what happened today or the last day. We've lost control of our own destiny.

"At the end of the day players are representing Cork in two weeks' time in Walsh Park. It's a big game, it's a four-game round robin and we expect that they represent that jersey in a proper manner when we go there irrespective of the league final. We can't control that. We can only control what's going on in that game in two weeks' time as best as we can.”