TIPPERARY GOT THEIR Munster minor hurling campaign back on track last night in Ennis with a nine-point win in their playoff against Clare and their manager Liam Cahill hit out at critics of his team in the aftermath of the game.
The victory saw Tipperary recover from their opening round loss to Waterford last month in Walsh Park.
Cahill, a former Tipperary senior hurler who was manager of the county minor side that contested last September’s All-Ireland final against Galway, spoke after the game in Cusack Park about the heated reaction to Tipperary’s loss to Waterford.
Cahill revealed to the Nenagh Guardian newspaper that he had received calls from the irate parents of some players after that match.
“We are going to have to improve a lot from tonight. We are going to have to get full buy-in from everybody, including a lot of these young players’ mothers and fathers.
“I have shipped a lot of criticism since the Waterford match and received a couple of phone calls from parents.
“I suppose it’s a parent’s nature to feel that their own geese are swans, but the bottom line is that we are in a competitive environment here in Tipp and not all geese are swans.
“I have five fellas earmarked to come in next Tuesday night (to training) that have performed with their club and deserve to be in with us.
“And, there are one or two that we let off early in the year that are doing a bit of crying and their mammies and daddies are doing a bit of crying that they are not in the squad.
“They will get a chance again to see whether they are up to it or not. We are going to look forward now to really putting the shoulder to the wheel and driving on from this.”
Tipperary now advance to a Munster minor semi-final meeting with Cork in Páirc Uí Rinn on 30 June.
Cahill accepts that there is pressure to perform in Tipperary hurling circles but insists that the county’s fortunes is his priority.
“The pressure is never off in Tipperary when you take these jobs. Hopefully the switch board in Tipp FM won’t light up as bad as it did last Monday night with Ronan Quirke (presenter of the Extra Time show).
“These so-called Tipperary supporters will start talking a bit of sense and stop talking through the sides of their mouths and start understanding that I am a Tipperary man.
“I will do whatever is required to put Tipperary hurling where it needs to be.”
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