"It’s going to be tough, there is no doubt about it. These
lads have given good commitment and the underage set-up is strong at
the minute, so we’re looking forward to them coming through. Most
of these lads had hurling this week (with their clubs) and it’s
very hard to combine both codes at any level and you could see that
in the first half. All our basic skills were off."
Kilkenny football boss Tom Brennan explains after his side’s
Murphy Cup loss to London that he is aware of the challenges facing
his side, but he has no doubt the county can become competitive
"If this match was played 13 or 14 years ago, the capacity would
have been set at 13,000 or 14,000. In fact, when Louth played Kildare
in the championship in 1991, there were 14,000 people at the game.”
Louth boss Eamonn McEnaney hits out at the capacity limit put
on the grounds at Drogheda of just 4,500 for the qualifier meeting with
Tyrone
"I cannot see how anybody in their right mind can walk away from
their county. Those who walked away won’t be able to look me in
the eye and they have lost my respect. You should not have to ask a
player twice to put on the jersey and if their hearts are not in it,
they do not deserve it.”
New Laois hurling boss Niall Rigney is at a loss to understand
how players could walk away from the county panel after their Leinster
championship defeat to Offaly
"I would like to see the day when all Antrim teams from Under
14 upwards will be allowed to compete in Leinster. That is the only
way to bring Antrim hurling forward with real competitive games and
only then can we hope to keep hurling alive in the county."
Sambo McNaughton feels entry into the Leinster championships is
the only way forward for Antrim hurling
"We conceded a couple of soft goals that normally wouldn’t
go in but we’ve plenty of positives today. We have been criticised
in the past for not battling but I think everyone did today. I don’t
think anyone threw in the towel."
Even though his side lost heavily to Kilkenny in the Leinster
final, Wexford hurler Rory Jacob believes his side showed plenty of
heart during the encounter
"This is a worrying factor. You are not going to win an All-Ireland
final unless you have played a match where you have come from behind
to win. We haven’t had that yet. We have had it easy in the second
halves. It would be better for us if we had a tougher challenge over
70 minutes. It could be a disadvantage to us in the long run. Hopefully
not, but there is nothing we can do about that."
Kilkenny’s Cha Fitzpatrick is hopeful that the fact that
his side are untested won’t come back to haunt them later in the
year