Clare boss Keane not taking Tipp for granted

By Stephen Barry

Tipperary’s player turnover stands apart from other counties. Still, Peter Keane points to that challenge of players coming and going in Clare ahead of their Munster Senior Football Championship semi-final in Ennis on Saturday.

The Banner had seen an exodus since the end of the Colm Collins era in 2023 but made it back to a Munster final the following year. Upon taking over from fellow Kerry native Mark Fitzgerald, Keane was boosted by the returns of two-time All-Star nominee Eoin Cleary and Keelan Sexton to their attack while others, like Jamie Malone and Ciarán Russell, have stuck with their decision.

“We've about seven or eight fellas have got debuts so there's a bit of a churn going on all the time,” said Keane.

“That's one of the things in some of these other counties where fellas have a tendency to go away or take a year out that mightn’t necessarily happen in the bigger counties.

“That churn loses experience. A guy that might have got a bit of experience the last two years, that's gone again, and you're starting from scratch with somebody else.

“You see more of a consistency in the Division 1 teams where you had a player last year so you know he'll be there this year. Whereas there's wholesale changes in the squads at a lower division.

“At that level, teams that have managements for a period can become more consistent than a team that are changing management every year or two years because there's new things coming in, there's new players coming in, there's a bigger churn.”

While at contrasting points in their development, both Tipp and Clare are embarking on a third consecutive season under different management.

With Tipp standing in their way on Saturday, Keane won’t contemplate a potential meeting with his Kingdom successor Jack O’Connor in the provincial final, while Kerry have their own business to conduct in Cork.

He knows Tipp have endured a “topsy-turvy” League campaign but dismisses the notion of receiving a favourable draw.

“I don't know about the kinder side of the draw,” said Keane when asked about the opportunity to secure Sam Maguire football.

“You have a game to play. I don't think you can afford to take any team for granted.

“If you look at the history in Munster, you have the big two of Kerry and Cork and the other four teams, on any given day, can all beat each other. That's something we're going to be very, very aware of.”