Tipperary secretary Tim Floyd has challenged the county's senior hurlers to bury their Kilkenny hoodoo in 2015.

The Cats' victory in this year's All-Ireland SHC final replay leaves the Premier County with only one win, which came in an Allianz League game at Semple Stadium last year, in 11 competitive meetings with their neighbours since they famously stopped Brian Cody's side bid for an unprecedented five-in-a-row of All-Irelands in 2010.

Writing in his report to next Monday night's annual convention in Thurles, Flood said: "Kilkenny is the monkey on Tipperary's back and until we shake it off that obstacle will continue to give us heartbreak.

"Other counties may give us temporary setbacks, but Kilkenny won't be going away so we need to raise our bar once again and meet their challenge. We have the players, management team and the structures in place to mount another attack in 2015.

"Bring it on."

Floyd also reflects on the fallout that followed Tipp's Munster SHC semi-final defeat to Limerick and a subsequent article published in the Tipperary Star which highlighted two days of drinking after the game.

"A lot of bloodletting was experienced over the following week as a local newspaper printed an article which caused major public reaction. This opened the whole debate on amateur players whose hobby is hurling and who are not contracted to anyone, but yet the public expect them to behave like professionals.

"In all walks of life we have role models, especially in sport, and impressionable youth are influenced by what they see and hear and very often try to emulate. Isolated incidents occur in all walks of life and hurling is no exception."

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