The scaredy Cats remain a big threat

Galway Kilkenny Croke Park, Sunday, 4pm

v DAVID BURKE believes Kilkenny have a fear factor when it comes to Galway.

Although Kilkenny have tasted victory much more often than defeat against all the counties they’ve faced in Brian Cody’s 20 seasons in charge, nobody has beaten them more often in the Championship than Galway.

The Tribe’s astonishing win in the 2012 Leinster final, when Burke was among the goals, helped promote the notion Galway could face down Cody’s (inset) men on any given day.

But until beating them in Salthill last month, that win was Galway’s last in the Championship against Kilkenny and Burke admits the Cats drove him to distraction over the years.

“I think they were a monkey on the back for every team in the country, like,” he said. “They drove everyone in the country mad for a while. They were kind of this unbeatable team. “But I think we changed that in ‘12. Obviously their good team was coming to a bit of an end.

“You know, they still fear us in a way, I think anyway. They still fear playing Galway. “We’ve pushed them a lot along the way. A lot of their motivation was probably to try and stop us, really.

“For them to do well, they had to try and beat us, which is good.

“Look, we know there’s massive history behind that but times change and things move on.

“We were always able to beat them on a given day. I think it’s just belief and mindset really. That’s what probably [made the difference], they had greater belief. That’s what they’ve instilled into themselves, more than skill or anything itself.

“It comes down to the last 10-15 minutes; I think it will come down to that again the next day against them.

“It’s a Leinster final, there’s a trophy on offer and we’re looking to win it, simple as that.”

As Galway captain, parading the Liam Maccarthy Cup since last September was Burke’s job a lot of the time and he admits the demands could be draining.

“Ah they have been, especially before Christmas. But trying to play at the highest level with Galway, you have to just take a step back from all the dealings that were going on.

“It’s impossible to tell if I have [managed it well] or not.

“It was unknown territory for us and all we’re looking to do is improve and we know that we can get better all the time.”