Offaly hurling boss Johnny Kelly has reiterated his call for the return of the maor foirne.

Last weekend, both Kelly and his Cork counterpart Ben O’Connor highlighted the on-field communication problems that have arisen between managers and players since the role was terminated in 2021.

"I don't know what's wrong when a coaching team or a management team are actually being hemmed into a box on the sideline,” the Portumna man told RTÉ after Offaly’s Allianz Hurling League Division 1A loss to Waterford.

"We understand why that was brought in. But there's no need for officials to actually ban all messages onto the field. It just doesn't make any sense.

"I'm not blaming that. Obviously, we have to take ownership of that on the field as well. But that would be a disappointment from our end.

"I heard Ben O'Connor on about it last night and he's 100% correct. We need to be able to get messages onto the field. So the obvious thing for us is a designated runner. And you know, the same restrictions apply to him or rules apply to him as everyone else.

"If he does something wrong to interfere with a player, that he gets a yellow card or a red card and he's gone and you lose your sideline privileges. It's very simple."

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