NOEL MCGRATH HAILED the Tipperary squad and expressed his pride in his team-mates after their battling display against the reigning Munster and All-Ireland champions Limerick today.
A third successive defeat in the Munster round-robin series places Tipperary on the brink of championship elimination, but a defiant McGrath vowed that they will continue to keep fighting.
“I’m proud of every player and delighted to be part of it with the management team.
“There’s an honesty there among the players and the management that maybe we weren’t given credit for over the last couple of weeks and we’ll stay fighting. I’m proud to be part of the group. We’ll give this another rattle over the next two weeks again. I think lads today poured everything they had out there.
“There was probably character questioned of the Tipperary group between management and players over the last couple of weeks. That would probably hurt because there are lads there that are as honest as I have ever come across in a Tipperary jersey.
“The results aren’t going our way but it’s not from the lack of effort, the lack of want, the lack of drive to succeed in training. Today showed that there is something there and hopefully the Tipp public will get behind us over the next few weeks and support us.
“You go out on the field and you have nothing only the lads beside you and I’m never as proud to be part of a Tipperary group and I will be over the next few weeks and as long as we’re still going for this year.”
McGrath shot 0-13 for a Tipperary team that were ahead throughout the second half until Limerick pegged them back in the last ten minutes to run out seven-point victors.
“it’s incredibly disappointing, we gave ourselves a shout coming down here today. We know against Clare wasn’t good enough, we knew we needed to bring something. To be in the position that we were, it’s encouraging in one way but it’s seriously disappointing that we didn’t finish it out.
“We had chances there to go three, four, five ahead at times. We know last year they hit us right after half time in the Munster final but we held our own for a long part of that second half today and kept ticking on scores.
“Unfortunately, near the end we just got caught with a couple of scores. They’re All-Ireland champions and they put you away when they get the chances. In sport it’s a cruel game when you don’t take your chances.”
Despite a series of players losses due to retirement and injury, McGrath insisted that Tipperary have the depth to compete.
“That’s why you have a panel of players there. There’s a lot of lads with minor All-Irelands, U-20 All-Irelands, U-21 All-Irelands, senior all-Irelands. It’s not as if we’re short of players in Tipp or short of quality or honesty of players.
“When you see lads that stepped in today for some of their first starts, Ger Browne and Conor Stakelum had brilliant games. I think we need to keep that going over the next few weeks, it’s still Munster championship, who knows what’s going to happen next weekend?
“This thing isn’t fully finished yet for Tipp so we’ll get back on the training field this week, we’ll get the bodies right and we’ll go again. Whatever happens, we’ll show up against Cork and we’ll put our body and soul into it.”
