Tipperary under-performing but patience needed - Padraic Maher
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Loading... - Orla Quinn
- 28 Apr 2022
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After 13 years without missing a single senior hurling championship game for Tipperary, Padraic Maher is trying to get used to life in the stands.
That isn't helped by his former team-mates' struggles this season – after losing to Waterford and Clare they will have to beat Munster and All-Ireland champions Limerick next week to have any hope of reaching an All-Ireland quarter-final.
"It's very strange alright," he tells RTÉ Sport. "Especially when championship got going, it kind of really hit home
"It's disappointing alright. You'd love to be able to help them in some way. It’s tough for them at the moment. It’s hard when you’re not winning and then when the performance is poor everyone is on your back.
"Obviously, I soldiered with a lot of them for years and my brother [Ronan] is involved with the team. I’ve been in that position before, coming off the back of a poor performance and a bad defeat. You know the supporters won’t be happy and what’s written about you… It’s tough going. It’s a difficult part of being an inter-county player but they’ll just have to get on with now.
"They’ll have to try and turn it around in two weeks to give themselves any bit of an opportunity to make it through this round-robin.
"People are saying it's more or less out of their sights now but Tipp still have four points to play for and you never know what way other results could go. The most important game is the next one which is the Limerick one.
"While it's a very uphill task, build that siege mentality, iron out the few things that have to change in training as regards the game-plan or structurally on the pitch, and obviously a few lads will have to look at themselves and up their performance as well.
"What better way to prove people wrong than to go down to the Gaelic Grounds and give a good performance and account of yourself against Limerick and see where it takes you?"
A transition year for Tipperary was predicted by many given the retirements of Paudie and namesake Brendan Maher, as well as the injury-enforced absence of stalwarts like Seamus Callanan and John 'Bubbles' O'Dwyer.
But Colm Bonnar's side raised expectations with their competitive defeat to Waterford, only for their defence to be shredded in the first half by a rampant Clare attack at Semple Stadium last weekend.
"They probably put a lot of energy into the Waterford game," suggests six-time All-Star defender Maher. "No-one was giving them a hope going down there and then they put so much energy into it.
"Then we were hoping for [another] big performance and a win this week. Tipp didn't play well and a lot of players won’t be happy with their performance but Clare set out very well. They looked well organised and weren’t going to be broken down too easily. They had John Conlon sitting in the middle of defence holding the house together.
"On the opposite side, Tipp were pulled and dragged all over the pitch. Left a bit open for long stages of the game. That was very disappointing from a Tipp point of view.
"You have to give Clare a bit of credit too. They were probably coming like Tipp the weekend before. There was no-one talking about Clare at all for the championship and they were probably biting their tongue. So they’ll be glad to get the win. They would have earmarked Tipp as their big game to get them off to a good start. The Cork game at the weekend becomes a massive game for them now as well." Read More...
