Mac: ‘We do have
Diarmuid Sheehan Cork boss Ronan McCarthy is keeping the sunny side out ahead of the Munster championship
ORK are heading into the Munster Senior Football semi-final this weekend in the unusual situation of carrying the tag of favourites around their necks, something that at one time was a pretty normal occurrence but in recent times not so much.
The Rebels have been vilified by all in sundry, written off by even more and dumped out of the country’s crucial top eight on the back of a series of really disappointing results in recent years that has seen the once mighty men in reds now battling for the scraps off the table where the big national football sides dine.
A poor league campaign, that saw relegation to Division 3 at the end of it, is long past now and Cork head into this Saturday nights encounter with fresh belief and no shortage of optimism and faith from their often-beleaguered manager Ronan McCarthy.
The head tactician may be on the back foot for the last couple of years, but he still has faith that the individual as well as the collective under his tutelage have what it takes to make an impact this year and that must start this weekend.
“We do have the players, playing well, to really mix it with any team. Some could justifiably say to me now what is that based on given some of your results in the league and championship last year and that would be fair enough comment.
“But, we went to Armagh, who are, a very decent team, who will do well in the Ulster championship, and we won away without the likes of Luke Connolly, Paul Kerrigan, Seán Powter and then lost Brian Hurley and John O’Rourke during the game. They’re all quality players.”
Belief in the squad he picks is part of the manager’s brief, but he acknowledges that it is ultimately his job to get the side going in the right direction getting the best from the players he has available.
“I’m still convinced the talent and quality are there. I can only talk about it for so long, but at some point, it’s my job as manager to get them to deliver.”
Heading into this weekend’s game with Limerick there are some reoccurring names on the treatment table once more with Seán Powter again out long term, but there is a slight chance that Powter will play again this season – slight.
“Sean has an outside chance of playing championship football with Cork this summer. It is dependent on how his recovery goes and how far we go in the championship. We are not ruling him out just yet.
“Sam [Ryan’s] season is over, for both club and county. He has had surgery and it went successfully. He has a long road back, rehab-wise.
“Sam played championship last year. This is his second year on the panel. He is a really committed guy, always looking to improve. Fellas improve in their second and third years with an inter-county team, so it puts a halt to his gallop a small bit.
“Obviously, it weakens our options. But, at one point, Sam’s career was threatened that it could be over. So the fact that he will be able to recover, get back and play again for club and county is a positive.”
Managing a modern inter-county side has plenty of challenges and criticism is front and centre in that regard. McCarthy knows that some will always feel the need to have a go but managing the negativity is something that falls under his remit. Sometimes even your own County Board can have a go, but McCarthy doesn’t distinguish where the comment comes from.