GIVEN EVERYTHING PAT Ryan has done for this Cork team, it’s no wonder they are all so willing to return the favour in spades.

Wayne Sherlock’s relationship with the Rebel chief goes back to their time as U21 teammates in 1997, while they worked together in Pfizer for over a decade between 2002 and 2013.

When he got the call from Ryan to join his backroom team as a selector, the three-time All-Ireland winner had no doubts.

“We’re happy to stay in the background,” says Sherlock. “When Pat speaks, people listen because he doesn’t speak bullshit. He just speaks from the heart, and the players respect him hugely. 

“It frustrates all of us when fellas make mistakes because they shouldn’t be making them, even if you’re 20 points up. But Pat has high standards, and he expects the same from the players. 

“You could see him after the Dublin match speaking to one particular player who just did something that he shouldn’t have. Nothing major, he just missed a pick-up or something. Pat went to him straight away and said, ‘Look, you should have done this because it’s what we’ve been doing in training.’ 

“Rob Downey said it after the (Munster) final that everyone loves Pat and we’d do anything for him. 

“I suppose the resilience he has shown this year to come back and row in behind his team is something exceptional.”

Ryan had to deal with personal tragedy following the passing of his brother, Ray, in February. 

Sherlock says the manner in which the manager has handled such a loss is a huge testament to his character.

“Pat is the man that we know, but his family have been unbelievably strong too. 

“We were at his house that tough week, and the first thing he said was, ‘I’m going to be at the game on Saturday.’ 

“Look, we respected him, we didn’t try and change his mind. He said he’d be there, that we had a job to do, and that’s the way it was. 

“It’s something that he hasn’t brought into the group here at all. How he’s done it is absolutely phenomenal. I actually don’t know how he’s done it, but it just shows the man he is. 

“When he’s tuned in and he has a job to do, and he has a very strong family behind him too, I suppose what he’s doing is making them proud and giving them good memories in a tough year.”

As a tight-marking defender, Sherlock is always happy to work closely with the current Cork rearguard.

Cork selector Wayne Sherlock. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

While the game has changed so much, the fundamentals remain the same. 

“That’s one thing about defending – you have to want to be there. 

“It’s a very, very hard place to play because you’re marking the best players in the game. You have to want to get the ball first. But if you don’t get the ball, if the forward gets it, you have to want to get it back off him. 

“As I say to the corner-backs sometimes, if you don’t touch the ball and your man doesn’t touch the ball, you’re the best player on the pitch. Some of the basics just don’t change. 

“Sometimes it’s not pretty and you don’t get all the plaudits that the forwards get, but you have to really want to be there. I think this group love defending. They really do. I hope they do anyway because they’re not moving anywhere soon!”

The supporters have played their part too, following the team in huge numbers across the past three seasons.

“If you look at our first year here, we didn’t qualify out of Munster, but the amount of people who said ‘Thanks for a great year’ was incredible,” Sherlock says. 

“Even though they meant well, in another way, it was an insult when you’re from Cork. But I know exactly what they meant. The team put in an incredible effort. 

“I’ll never forget coming down to the Limerick match last year, and you could tell that the Cork crowd are absolutely starving for it. You could just feel it coming in on the bus. 

“There’s a new generation of people who haven’t seen Cork win. Twenty years is a long time so you probably have teenagers now completely buying into it. But it’s not even just that. And I hope that they’re enjoying the hurling we’re playing, which is fast and exciting.

“The roar before the Dublin game was unbelievable. It’s hairs-on-the-back-of-your-neck stuff. 

“They’ve just taken to this team, and the effort the players have put in has been incredible. 

“It’s a team that won nothing until this year, but they’ve backed the team. Even last year, we lost the first two games, but we came down here to play Limerick and the place was full.”

As for Tipperary in the final?

“It’s going to be super,” Sherlock says. “Cork and Tipp games take on a life of their own. 

“I suppose we both have a lot of homework done on each other because we played each other in a league final as well. 

“Look, I’d say Tipp are probably happy they’re playing us, to be honest. I think there’s no doubting that. But if our attitude is good, and I think it is at the moment, we’ll be in with a great shout.”

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