Willie Hyland stepped down as Clough/Ballacolla manager following yesterday's narrow Leinster club SHC semi-final loss to Ballyhale Shamrocks.

The Laois champions gave a very creditable performance and were level with three minutes of normal time remaining before succumbing to three late points from their start-studded Kilkenny counterparts.

"I've said to the lads I won't be there, but the lads will be there and as a club will be there," Hyland - who won back-to-back Bob O'Keeffe Cups during his two years in charge - told reporters after the game in UPMC Nowlan Park.

"I have a lot going on, a young family and different things, so I won't be there. Look, it's been a great two years, and if someone said to me when we took on the job that we'd win two county finals, and, you know, maybe, I think they’ll be there or thereabouts for the All-Ireland, run the All-Ireland champions, to give them the scare that we did.

"Still, it'll haunt us that we didn't finish the job; that's probably just the way I look at things. They beat us in that Leinster final a couple of years ago, nearly ruined our winter, to be honest with you. You have to be a competitor; moral victories are no good to us, that's the way we look at it."

 

Tweet

Most Read Stories