Cork legend Jimmy Barry-Murphy reflects on Cork’s championship campaign as Pat Ryan saw his side exit after their Munster run.
Jimmy Barry Murphy feels that Cork have made good progress in year one under Pat Ryan.
The Rebels drew with Tipperary, lost by a point to both Limerick and Clare, with a win over Waterford proving to be their high watermark.
JBM had two stints in charge of his county and recalls his first season as manager being “a disaster and I learned an awful lot from it”, and feels Ryan will also be in a better place heading towards 2024.
“You’ve got to assess it and be honest and be realistic about it,” says JBM.
“I was chatting with Pat Ryan after the game the other day actually, and he was very disappointed but at the end of the day, you have to be cruel and harsh and say we won one game.
“We had Tipp at home in the Pairc and probably lucky to draw on the night, and we went to Ennis and lost by a point after being six or seven down, and the same against Limerick.
“So you can argue until the cows come home about how unlucky you are, but you must deliver.
“We had the opportunities and didn’t take them.
“Pat is quite realistic about that, in fairness to him, and from a supporter point of view which is what I am now, I am bitterly disappointed.
“Because if we had got out of the group, and it is literally the group of death, I feel a younger team could have developed more and more as we went forward through either the Munster final or the qualifiers — which wouldn’t have worried me either.
“So from that point of view, it’s a long way until next year but that’s the harsh reality of championship life.
“We had our chances, we didn’t take them.
“We were very good, great progress made, but just came up short a bit.”
