‘Clare are further from glory days of 2013 than ever’

JAMESIE O’CONNOR is not without hope when he assesses Clare’s prospects for this year’s Hurling Championship but he admits that he is concerned by the lack of defensive depth in the Banner panel. The two-time All-Ireland winner, who will once again be providing analysis for Sky Sports this summer, says it remains a mystery that the team have struggled to reproduce the form that saw them capture the 2013 All-Ireland title in such thrilling style. ‘If you are being realistic, and bookies don’t often get it wrong, we are ranked fifth in Munster,’ O’Connor points out. ‘They are 11-1 to win the All-Ireland and 6-1 to win Munster. ‘It is a great imponderable how a team that played with the elán and verve in Croke Park in 2013 have not been back there since. If anything, they look further away than ever.’ The former forward feels that Clare’s entire year hinges on Sunday’s Championship opener in Páirc Uí Chaoimh. ‘If they get a result, it will be a huge momentum-turner. ‘If you look at this Cork team, until they prove that they can win ugly, I think the jury is still out on them. Galway, Tipperary, Kilkenny and Waterford, they all feel that if they met Cork in Championship, they can beat them. And that is the philosophy Clare need to have. ‘With everyone on board, we might have a chance. I still think Tony Kelly and [Colm] Galvin is as good a midfield pairing as there is in the country and if they have a big year, if [Shane] O’Donnell, [Conor] McGrath and Podge [Collins] can rediscover their form of a few years ago, I wouldn’t be without hope,’ O’Connor added. ‘Defensively though, I just don’t think they have the depth. Cian Dillon is back and he will make a difference but you have to be realistic and say we don’t have the squad depth of Galway, Tipperary and Kilkenny. And defensively, are we just good enough?’ However, O’Connor insists that it is too harsh to call the 2013 AllIreland win a flash in the pan. ‘There were four semi-finalists that year. Limerick, Dublin, Cork and Clare and they all had a glorious opportunity with Tipp and Kilkenny gone. ‘And Clare did it, I don’t care what people say, you don’t win an AllIreland easily, there is no such thing as a soft All-Ireland. And the lads deserved it in 2013. ‘We just haven’t been good enough since. You can’t say that we have been robbed or anything, we just haven’t produced our best form on the big days. ‘That is something we have to improve this year.’