John Mullane has driven the boot into Cork by saying they are "going nowhere".

Writing in the Irish Independent, the recently-retired Waterford star believes the future is bleak for the Rebels after they were relegated to Division 1B of the Allianz Hurling League for 2014 by Clare.

"That was a massive win for Clare yesterday but I'm afraid that Cork are going nowhere," Mullane said.

"Cork are in big trouble. They were the worst team in the league and I can't see them having a say in the championship. There's a massive rebuilding job ahead for Jimmy Barry-Murphy."

In contrast, the De La Salle clubman was "very impressed" with Clare.

"The manner in which Clare won that relegation play-off bodes well for their summer. I was very impressed with them as they shot 0-31 despite registering 24 wides.

"I felt they were so dominant and the final scoreline wasn't a true reflection of the game. They bossed Cork for the best part of 50 minutes. They brought a huge work rate and looked really fit.

"You could see the evidence of how hard they have worked in pre-season and Cork couldn't live with them. I'm fearful for Cork and if these teams meet again in a potential Munster semi-final, I can only see one outcome and that's a Clare win.

"My one criticism of Clare, however, is that they don't score enough goals and don't look like scoring them. But if they can come up with a plan to utilise Darach Honan, Conor McGrath and Shane O'Donnell in the full-forward line, they could reap the rewards." Tweet

Most Read Stories