CILLIAN BUCKLEY

says it feels strange that Kilkenny aren’t currently considered among the top three hurling teams in the country, but he says that last summer proves the Cats aren’t that far away. ‘It is strange, yeah. Kilkenny have a serious history and a serious amount of All-Irelands but we have no God-given right to them either,’ said Buckley, who captained the Cats this year as they lost to Galway in a Leinster final replay and by two points to eventual champions Limerick in the All-Ireland quarter-final. ‘You have to earn the right to be among the top three or four teams. The aim isn’t to be among the top four teams, it is to be number one. But there are so many teams who can win it.’