"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