Burke urges players to have more beliefBy Michael Heverin

By Michael Heverin

Tipperary manager Ed Burke kept his players in a huddle for much longer than usual following Tipperary’s defeat to Cork in the Munster Ladies Senior Football Championship at Fethard on Sunday.

The Moyle Rovers clubman stood in the centre of the group of players and backroom staff, as he spoke to them on his side’s second defeat in eight days, and their exit from the championship. When asked later what was his message to his players, and what his focus was on during his animated talk, he replied in one word – belief.

“We have to get a bit of belief into ourselves,” insisted the Tipp boss.

“All the players know that they can play thirty to forty per cent better, but it is not just going to happen itself, you have to force it.

“If we improve our belief by five per cent then we can improve our performance by thirty per cent, and if we do that then we are beating a lot of teams”.

Not for the first time this season, Burke had to try to explain why Tipperary couldn’t hold on to winning positions, and why they concede goals at crucial times.

“We just concede goals at the wrong time and then we cannot get the momentum back,” he continued.

“We started off excellently, conceded a goal and the momentum was gone. We got it back again in the second half, conceded another goal and momentum broken again”.

And he also reminded the players that they are now dining at the top table of ladies football, and with that comes challenges and expectations.

“All of our successes have come at intermediate level, but now we are a seasoned senior team and we have done nothing. We have competed in games but haven’t won anything.

“I said to the girls that we have to decide – are we underperforming or is this our level?

“I think that we have a higher level to go but unless we do something different, nothing is going to change.

“There is plenty of belief in them at training, but when we come out and play top opposition, then we have to do more. There is no point in saying anything else. We cannot step onto the pitch with fear”.

Yet he was encouraged by much of the performance against Cork, and the chances they created.

“We had some lovely patterns of play and some great chances,” Burke said.

“But credit to Cork, they were cynical at the right time to stop the goals, in comparison to us. I think we could have got through for three goals, but Cork pulled us down before we got to the penalty box, and we just got a free. We need to be a bit more cynical”.

Many of referee Patrick Smith’s decisions angered Tipp fans on the sideline, and manager Burke wasn’t too pleased either. He described the referee’s performance as “disgraceful”, adding that “an awful lot of decisions went against us”.

“The penalty doesn’t bother me but all over the pitch they were getting softer frees than us, Burke felt who added as his side face All-Ireland and league champions Kerry next Sunday in the final game of the Munster campaign, the focus is now firmly on the All-Ireland Championship due to start in June.