Kilkenny selector DJ Carey explains how Kilkenny are preparing for the championship in the Covid era, and why hunger is not an issue after a couple of lean years.
DJ Carey insists that “hunger is not in question” for Kilkenny this year.
The Cats last won a Leinster title in 2016 and the All-Ireland in 2015, and the Cats selector is aware of the challenges his side face in this year’s provincial semi-final against either Dublin or Laois.
“We know the task that’s in front of us and there’ll be nothing short of absolute hunger required, and if we don’t have that as a team, we won’t win it because you can be sure that Dublin or Laois have it and every other county will be the same.
“We are contenders, at the end of the day we are up there with the top eight or nine teams in the country.
“We’re looking to try and win a Leinster championship, we’re looking to try and win an All-Ireland.
“In one way Dublin or Laois will be enormous but please God the country can get back to some sort of normality and that we can have a hurling and football championship.”
The GAA has faced some criticised in the past week regarding the suspension of club games, withe association concerned about adherence to guidelines, but Carey ensures that Kilkenny are following the necessary protocols:
โWe are told that if youโve a sniffle, a runny nose, a sore throat, a headache or whatever it is, you are not to come training.
โWhen we go to training, there is a facial recognition machine that takes your temperature and then we also have two marquees in Dunmore where we train.
“The same players go into each marquee every night, half in each one. They come togged out.
“When training is finished they donโt shower, they go home and food is delivered for them to take home.
“Theyโre the guidelines Dr Tadhg Crowley has set out for us and thatโs what we are doing.
โSince we have come back on September 16, we canโt have any issues other than the fact that while the county championships were going on, we hadnโt those players who were left in the championship, our training has not been interrupted.
โA lot of it at the moment is an inconvenience but itโs an inconvenience we donโt mind having,โ Carey notes.
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