Rebel yell back says ace Conor
CONOR LEHANE insists an attitude change has propelled Cork back into All-ireland winning territory.
The Rebels reached the All-ireland semi-finals in the last two years, a marked improvement after the real decline that occurred after losing the 2013 All-ireland final to Clare after a replay.
And Lehane reveals the players themselves stood up and were counted after the damaging defeats to Tipperary and Wexford in 2016, which were preceded by a hammering by Galway the previous summer.
“Definitely, the attitude is completely changed,” said the Midleton clubman. “It’s changed massively. It’s only since it’s happened that you realise how much it’s changed from before.
“We were more, ‘We’ll go out and see if it goes well, brilliant – if it doesn’t, that’s sport’. That’s a poor enough attitude.
“If it comes down to the wire the other team with the hunger and drive will always come out on top no matter how talented one team is over another.
“There was something wrong that we got beaten really bad two years in a row – especially 2016, which was the worst year I was involved. That was a really tough one to take.”
Lehane, 25, is already nearly a decade with Cork and still believes the Rebels will lift the Liam Maccarthy Cup during his time.
“That’s three semi-finals now that we have come up short in, so we are always hearing, ‘You’re nearly there,’” he said.
“But when you have to go training and prepare for the league and for the first round and second round, and actually go through all those teams... all the teams are so close now.”