WHEN Pat Ryan tried to make sense of his omission from the Cork team, he was served with a piece of frank feedback that had to be taken on the chin.
Under the management of Jimmy Barry-Murphy, the Rebels were crowned All-Ireland champions in 1999 with a side that boasted star names such as Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, Joe Deane, Ben O’Connor, Brian Corcoran and Diarmuid O’Sullivan.
Ryan appeared as a 52nd-minute sub in that year’s Munster final victory over Clare.
But he wanted more. And when answers were sought, his father advised him to look within.
It is a suggestion now being imparted to Ryan’s players as he aims to emulate Barry-Murphy by bringing the Liam MacCathy Cup back to Leeside as a bainisteoir.
Ryan explained: “I was a fella when I was an inter-county player who was in and out of the team, but my father always gave me great advice and he said, ‘Are you doing enough?’
“I’d say I thought I was doing enough and he’d always say, ‘Seán Óg is doing enough, Brian Corcoran is doing enough’.
“They were giving him no choice and that’s what you’re trying to say to the players — give us no choice.”
Particularly amid the longest All-Ireland drought in the county’s history, dealing with pressure and expectation goes with the territory while managing Cork.
But the hardest part of the gig? Telling players that they have been good — but not good enough.
Ryan has seen both sides of such situations. He said: “Sometimes fellas are playing really well in training and they’re asking questions, ‘I’m going really well, what more can I do?’
“You’re saying, ‘Yeah, keep doing what you’re doing’, but unfortunately there might be somebody just ahead of them. You’re trying to be as honest and as truthful as you can without being false.”
It is a reflection of Cork’s strength in depth that even with Cormac O’Brien and Séamus Harnedy sidelined for today’s All-Ireland semi-final against Dublin, Munster final heroes Damien Cahalane, Shane Kingston and Conor Lehane have to settle for places on the bench.
Ryan continued: “We call out the team and I’m always available then to meet players the next day or have a chat. I leave them have a think . . . I don’t really like doing it on the day because it’s an emotional side of things.
“You talk to fellas the next day or meet for coffee or over the phone about what they need to do or how they can get back into the team. Some fellas ring you, some fellas don’t. Sometimes the same fellas always ring you! Look, it’s the hardest part of the job.”
“There are people wanting to go to matches and we want people to go to matches. We want people reading stories. You’re all in the media game and you want fellas looking at podcasts, going after content about hurling.”
From solving selection dilemmas to keeping his players focused on the bid to bring Cork a first hurling All-Ireland in 20 years, Ryan has demonstrated an ability to roll with the punches thrown by senior inter-county management during his three-year reign.
Yet with his team favoured by the bookies to land the big one in 15 days’ time, he is adamant that they have not been affected by the outside noise attempting to penetrate the dressing-room walls.
Cork were installed as favourites after winning a first National League title in 27 years, only for Limerick to restore order with a Munster round-robin hammering.
On the narrative that suggested his side had one hand on the Liam MacCarthy, Ryan said: “A lot of it was stupid after the league because it was the league. Not everybody takes the league seriously.
“The comments about us doing this and that, I just thought some of it was disingenuous because, let’s be honest, I don’t think anyone really believed that we were favourites when you have Limerick and who they are and what team they are. So I don’t think that was realistic.
“I think there was a bit of maybe false prophets from some certain people. It was at the time but it kind of crashed when we went up to Limerick the first day. That kind of stopped all of that.
“We didn’t need that game to bring us back down to Earth but I thought it just brought everyone else back down to Earth, that we’re still a work in progress.
“Look, we know where we are. We’re a very, very good team when we’re on it.
“When we’re not on it, we’re a very, very poor team.”
HYPE TRAIN
Despite fears among some Cork supporters about the prospect of the hype train derailing their All-Ireland aspirations, Ryan has remained true to his principles.
The Sarsfields man has been an open book throughout his tenure.
While his opposite number today Niall Ó Ceallacháin opted not to engage with the media, closing ranks as a means of fortification was a temptation Ryan resisted.
Speaking at a press briefing ahead of the semi-final, he said: “People talk about hype and there are different things about hype.
“There are people wanting to go to matches and we want people to go to matches. We want people reading stories. You’re all in the media game and you want fellas looking at podcasts, going after content about hurling.
“You want them talking about hurling, you want the kids talking about hurling, of course you do.
“What you don’t want is kind of, I suppose, false analysis that’s trying to build up a team so they can be knocked back down. I felt that was happening.
“And to be honest, I felt it was happening by Cork people more than outside people. That was one of the things that annoyed me. But that Limerick game solved that fairly quickly.”
There is no lack of irony in Cork’s odds being shortened because of a result achieved by the team aiming to scupper their All-Ireland hopes this evening at Croke Park.
On 14-man Dublin’s quarter-final upset of Limerick, Ryan declared: “They showed unbelievable character and spirit.
“When you go a man down, it’s very easy to throw your hat at it and kind of give up when you’re up against a team as formidable as Limerick.
“That showed great unity within their group. I think that’s the first thing you’re looking for as any manager. Have we got unity in the group? Have we got spirit in the group?
“They certainly have that and that’s the challenge for our guys on Saturday. Can we match that unity and match that spirit?”
RING RUST
Dublin have played twice since Cork’s last competitive outing. For Ryan, the hope is that no cobwebs have gathered during the four-week break since the Munster final.
He added: “We feel we’ve handled it well enough.
“The proof will be on Saturday. But it’s like everything — if you win, you were rested, if you lose, you weren’t match-ready.
“But we’ve played loads of matches all year and we’ve had loads of big games with big crowds.
“In fairness to the Cork public, all the crowds we’re playing in front of now are big crowds so lads are looking forward to going to Croke Park with a huge Cork crowd again.”
