Cyril Farrell says it's time for the Galway hurlers to do their talking on the pitch.

The Tribesmen face their first serious championship test since last autumn's player heave against Anthony Cunningham when they face Kilkenny in Sunday's Leinster SHC final. Cunningham's enforced departure - just two months after guiding them to an All-Ireland final appearance - has heaped pressure on the Galway players to deliver silverware this year.

"On their day when they're good they're very good," former All-Ireland winning manager Farrell told RTÉ.

"They will be judged on the championship. This is the real thing. Kilkenny are still the benchmark. You'll know where you are after you play them.

"It's more or less the same players [as last year]. They've done the talking, now they'll have to do the walking.

"If you don't beat Kilkenny you're still in training Tuesday night. The real knockout doesn't come until you're knocked out and gone until the following 12 months or whatever it is.

"That's when the real pinch comes. If they play well against Kilkenny [and lose] the Galway hurling public will be happy that they come back into the round-robin because if they got a run there they could go very well."

He added "It was sad what happened. I could see where the lads were coming from, they wanted to win an All-Ireland, but they turned the blame on the management.  

"That took them a while to get over that, but Micheál Donoghue and his management came in quite easy, so the people would realise it's not all about Micheál [Donoghue] or Anthony Cunningham at this stage, it's all about the team.

"If they perform well it's fine and if they don't they'll get a bit of stick.

"On their day when they're good they're very good. It's just that we don't know which Galway team will turn up. If they turn up on their 'A' game they'll put it right up to Kilkenny."

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