SELECTOR Declan Laffan believes Tipperary got the public back in their corner by proving they are up for the fight.
Despite having home advantage, Tipp were outnumbered in Thurles for the defeat to Cork that eliminated them from last year’s Championship.
Boss Liam Cahill subsequently urged supporters to ‘be brave’ as he called for them to row in behind the team in 2025.
Having lost to Cork in the National League final, Tipp’s only Championship defeat this term was also dished out by the Rebels.
But Laffan felt fans were heartened by what they saw from their team following the dismissal of Darragh McCarthy moments after throw-in.
He said: “Winning is obviously what gets supporters behind you but I think the manner of it too has helped.
“The squad has shown tremendous batting qualities and I’m going back to the start of the year, even our very first day out in the league up in Galway.
“Maybe we saw a slightly different side and saw what was about to follow. I know we had one or two bad days against Cork.
“But even that second day in Munster when we were down to 14 men, I think we showed great quality and resilience.
“If you remember what Clare did to Cork in 12 minutes at the end of the game in Ennis, we went 75 minutes with 14 men.
“I know you can say we lost by whatever, 14 points, but I think we won the second half that day by a point or two.”
On the back of wins over Clare, Waterford, Laois and Galway, Tipp will be hoping for plenty of vocal support at Croke Park for this weekend’s All-Ireland SHC semi-final against Kilkenny.
Laffan said: “I love the motto that you don’t get too low when you lose and you don’t get too carried away when you win.
“But it’s very hard to get the general public to do that and they come down hard when things don’t run for you. Likewise, they do really back us when things go well. Hopefully we’ll keep giving them more to shout about.”
Sunday’s game will see Tipperary and Kilkenny renew their rivalry with a first Championship meeting since the Premier won the 2019 All-Ireland final.
They also claimed the Liam MacCarthy at their neighbours’ expense three years earlier.
Laffan added: “Obviously 2016 and 2019 went Tipp’s way. Hopefully we’ll get another classic.”
