Herlihy hails his accomplished helpers
April 12, 2016
Cork's Noel O'Leary
Cork minor football manager Brian Herlihy has thanked Noel O'Leary and Alan Quirke for their assistance in preparing the Rebel County team.
The 2010 Sam Mguire Cup winners are part of the backroom team and have assisted Herlihy greatly in getting the Leesiders ready for their Munster MFC opener against Tipperary in Pairc Ui Rinn tomorrow.
"I have to say something four times before it gets through to the players, they only need say it once," the manager told The Irish Examiner "These are, after all, footballers that the lads would have grown up watching.
"Michael Comyns, Donal McCarthy, and Bernie Collins are also involved and it is great to be surrounded by excellent Cork football people. It is great to see the next generation coming through and getting involved on the sideline. These lads instantly command the respect of the players. These lads are future managers.
"Tipperary got to last year's All-Ireland minor final and so should have a few survivors from that. The days of taking Tipperary for granted are gone, long gone. Neither can we afford to take them for granted. For the majority of lads, this will be their first intercounty championship match and if the net result of us taking Tipperary for granted is that we are chasing the game after ten minutes, then we could be in big trouble.
"In terms of preparation, we played Dublin in Parnell Park and drew with them. We played Kildare and Wexford, as well. These games gave the lads a good grounding as none of them had been exposed to this level before. The games brought home to the lads the step up in intensity and workrate that comes with playing inter-county football at minor level."
