Ryan aims to bounce back after League final hurt
TIPPERARY manager Michael Ryan has defended Tipperary’s mental strength after losing the Allianz Hurling League final to arch rivals Kilkenny. Coming on the back of a single-point defeat in the group stage and a modern history of losing out to Brian Cody’s men in tight games, Ryan admitted that the most recent set-back hurt. ‘It’s always disappointing to lose a big game, a national final as we did,’ said Ryan. ‘Particularly when you lose it to your arch-rivals and next-door neighbours, it always hurts. ‘They’ve been winning all of these tight games the last eight to 10 years. We’re not happy. But that’s our lot and we’ll move on and look ahead.’ However, he doesn’t see the League final as shining a light on a character flaw. ‘We were the ones in the League final. I’ll point that one out first. Realistically, there was 10 teams eligible to get there – we got there. Talk to the rest of them. I’m happy enough where we are at in it. ‘We never like to lose a final. And we certainly never like to lose a final or any game to our nearest and dearest rivals, Kilkenny. It’s a point in time, it’s done, we need to look ahead. ‘Kilkenny do what they do best, play for 70-plus minutes. That is the single biggest feather in their cap that the rest of us strive for. I don’t think that is disingenuous to any other competitor — they are the market leaders in that. And have been. On top of quality players — we all have quality players — that is the single biggest differentiator between Kilkenny and the rest of us.’ Séamus Callanan’s return to training is a major plus after back surgery ruled the All-Star forward out of the spring campaign. Meanwhile defender Michael Cahill faces a race against time to be fit for the first game of the new-look Munster