Alan Connolly: 'We absolutely love him. If he told us to run through a brick wall, we'd do it'

CORK CHIEF: Alan Connolly says that the current Cork panel will do anything for Pat Ryan and his management team. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

You couldn’t accuse the Cork hurlers of engaging in the stock answers that have become so mind-numbingly commonplace in the Gaelic games sphere. You couldn’t accuse the Cork hurlers of issuing statements with the sole intention of dialing down the expectation swelling outside their door.

You had Patrick Horgan tell us last spring that they had two for every position. You had the same player tell us earlier this year that the current panel is the strongest across his 18 seasons in red.