DEREK LYNG insists Kilkenny’s 10-year famine has nothing to do with the current crop.
The Cats have been starved of success in the last decade, and have not won Liam MacCarthy since 2015.
TJ Reid, Richie Reid and stopper Eoin Murphy are the only survivors from their last title when Lyng was a selector under Brian Cody.
But their boss says there is no 10-year cloud over the dressing room ahead of Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final against Tipperary.
He said: “None whatsoever, none whatsoever. That’s not on this group. That’s sport. Anytime you get through and win something you have to earn it. That’s what we’ve been trying to do.
“What I’m looking for from the team is a really good attitude and application in terms of how they go about the games. I’ve been really pleased with how we’ve done that so far.
“We think we have a bit to go yet and we know we need to up it again this weekend. That’s all we’re looking for.”
Sunday’s clash is one of hurling’s great rivalries, and Lyng grew up in Urlingford where that edge was felt the most.
The border with Tipperary was only a couple of kilometres away, so he was no stranger to what these games meant as a child.
He sat in the Hogan stand when Tipp prevailed in the 1991 All-Ireland before facing his neighbours in four championship games as a player, winning three and losing one.
Lyng prevailed in back to back semi-finals in 2003, as well as the 2009 All-Ireland final before Liam Sheedy’s men halted their drive for five a year later.
Sunday’s clash will be their first championship showdown since Tipp won the 2019 All-Ireland, and blew the Cats away 3-25 to 0-20.
After romping to their sixth Leinster title in a row against Galway last month, game seven awaits in their quest for glory.
Kilkenny’s manager will block out the rivalry as much as he can, but it will never go away.
He said: “I think it’s a healthy rivalry, and I get it. I think when Kilkenny and Tipp meet, there’ll be a lot of talk this week in media – and that’s fine and it adds to the whole story of it and it builds up the game and everything else.
“The fact that we’re playing Tipperary adds to it, if anything. Nothing else comes into play. This team are after performing really well all year.
“Any game you play against Tipperary that I’ve been involved in is always a tough game. I think there’s a lot of respect there between both counties, always has been.
“There have been massive games with Tipperary right the way through. Some we got out on top of, some we didn’t.
“But at the same time, when we go to play each other, we’re both competitive and we want to win and perform.
“That’s what makes it special, then you get the games that we’ve got in the past. But like I said, for ourselves, it’s just about focusing on our performance now.
“We know what the challenge is, we have to take it to another level now. That’s what’s in front of us, so that’s where the focus is going.
“But for us, it’s the next game. It’s about performing and you can’t get caught up too much in the emotion of it all. For us, an All-Ireland semi-final is a huge event in itself.”
KILKENNY DEMONS
And Kilkenny have their semi-final demons to banish too. The Cats held a commanding 1-11 to 0-8 lead against Clare in the last four a year ago.
But a whopping second half surge from the Banner killed the game as Brian Lohan’s men edged it 0-24 to 2-16 and went on to land the big one against Cork in the final.
Kilkenny’s failure to kill them off dominated the post-mortems. But Lyng insists the best team won, and hopes his players have learned their lesson.
He said: “I don’t think we threw it away, I think the best team won on the day. I don’t think we earned it. This is a different year, a different game.
“Obviously, you try and learn from that game and you bring that into the start of the year. We definitely didn’t throw it away.
“We were obviously in a strong position at half-time and that’s been well documented. We didn’t do enough in the second half, simple as that. The better team won.
“We know we’re going to have to perform for over 75 minutes in this game to win an All-Ireland semi-final. You have to. Games ebb and flow.
“You’re not going to have it your way all the time. It’s about digging out that. The other team gets on top for a while and seeing that through and taking advantage when you’re on top.
“And that’s really the game, being efficient when you get those chances. Anytime you’re in an All-Ireland semi-final it’s a huge opportunity. You’re one game away from being in the final.
“We’re playing Tipperary so straight away it’s not exactly a team that hasn’t been used to playing in All-Ireland finals or used to success. The opportunity is always there.
“It doesn’t matter who you’re playing. Like I said before, Tipperary brings an added excitement to the whole thing. For us the focus doesn’t change, really.”
