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‘Limerick will be challenged to a level they haven’t been challenged before’ – Pundit Liam Sheedy’s view

Manager-turned-pundit Liam Sheedy. Photo: Sportsfile Expand

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Manager-turned-pundit Liam Sheedy. Photo: Sportsfile

Manager-turned-pundit Liam Sheedy. Photo: Sportsfile

Manager-turned-pundit Liam Sheedy. Photo: Sportsfile

Donnchadh Boyle Twitter Email

Liam Sheedy is bucking the trend, swapping the inter-county treadmill for the TV studio.

Part of Séamus McEnaney’s backroom team in Monaghan last year, Sheedy is back in front of The Sunday Game cameras ahead of the new season, heading in the opposite direction to the likes of Kevin McStay and Colm O’Rourke.

Watching from Montrose, Sheedy’s expecting to see a response from Tipperary. Last year’s showing wasn’t an accurate read. And having worked with some of the players Liam Cahill is likely to turn to, he’s not buying the idea that Tipp are in transition and expects Limerick to find the going tough this time around.

“Most of those guys who won the 21s and the 20s, they started training with me – so they have 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, so they have four years of programming of an inter-county senior set-up,” Sheedy said.

“So I think they will be a lot stronger. I think it’s very clear that you need to be hitting that 24, 25 mark before you really start to get into that environment where you are at the peak of it. I think it’s exciting. Liam knows them all. He still has that mix of the older guys and then the young brigade he knows inside out.

“I thought there was a real purpose to their play and a really good energy and work ethic about their play against Clare in Nenagh. A lot of people would have said Tipp are in transition. I’m not so sure. I think he has a really good set-up.

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“The thing about Tipperary generally is you’ll be well able to find 15 really good hurlers and a few to come in and make a difference, so I think they will be looking forward eagerly to the season. And I think it is going to be the most competitive Munster Championship we’ll have had in a number of years.

“I think Limerick will be challenged in Munster to a level they haven’t been challenged before, so I think it’s going to be a really competitive Munster Championship.”

And he expects Tipp to make the All-Ireland series this time around.

“I think they have really good forwards that can score goals and if they score goals in the Munster Championship, they can win matches. I think if they can just get into the top three because when you’re in the top three, you’re now in knockout hurling, you’re down to the last six teams in the competition and you’re either playing one of the Joe McDonagh Cup finalists to get right back into the thick of it ... so I would say that would be the priority for that group, to get into the top three.

“They’re going to have to fight tooth and nail to get in there because the landscape is extremely competitive. But they’ll be well drilled. Liam and Mikey (coach Michael Bevans) have done a huge amount. You see what they did with the underage teams. You see what they did with Waterford. They turned them into All-Ireland contenders.

“So I think you can be fairly sure that whoever is in that group, Liam and Mikey will get the best out of them.”

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