Sean Og O hAilpin has described Cork's 14-point Allianz Hurling League final drubbing by Kilkenny as a "reality check".

But he insists it's not the end of the world for Jimmy Barry-Murphy's young side who will be out to make amends when they face the winners of Sunday's clash between Tipperary and Limerick in the Munster SHC semi-final next month.

"If someone had told us in Rochestown Park when we all met back in November that we'd be competing in the league final I would have laughed at that because, basically, we were getting hammered by double digits in the last couple of years," the 35-year-old said at yesterday's Ulster Bank launch in Dublin.

"Okay, no one wants to be hammered in the league final, and we were badly beaten, but it's probably a small bit different this year because we're trying to build blocks this year. Let's put it this way, a league final defeat like that back in 2005 and '06 when the team was mature would have taken an awful lot of nattering to the ego."

He continued: "Not many people down home would like me saying it, but the league is a means to an end. The championship is the main one. I can name you Cork winning championship teams, but I could barely name you the league titles they've won

"I think that's not alone in Cork, but that's everywhere. The 24th is D-day. It opens up our season or we go a different route that we probably don't want to go down." Tweet

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