Kilkenny star Colin Fennelly admits he was "disappointed" when he heard that Ger Loughnane slammed the current Cats team.
RTÉ analyst and double All-Ireland winning Clare manager Loughnane said that the Cats are "functional beyond belief" and that there was no way they should be going for another three in-a-row.
Fennelly heard about the comments, made in an interview with the official GAA website, and says he thought they were just "weird".
“I thought it was weird what he said, probably more disappointed with what he said,” explained the Ballyhale Shamrocks man.
“I think, what was it, that we shouldn't have won the last two All-Irelands? It's weird because in 2014, there's four competitions there to be won and we won all four of them.
“It's very unusual for a team to do that. You have to win so many games to win all four trophies. It's not pure luck that you win all those competitions or all those games.
"In 2014, there's four competitions there to be won and we won all four of them"
“I don't know, is Ger out of the game so long that he doesn't realise all the hard work that you put into winning?” wondered Fennelly, who was speaking at the launch of the GAA’s Etihad Airways World Games at Croke Park.
“Last year as well you had a club team winning an All-Ireland and the county team winning, that's unusual again and just shows the strength in depth in the county to do what we've done.”
Since Brian Cody took over Kilkenny before the start of the 1999 season, the Cats have dominated hurling, winning 11 All-Ireland titles.
That included the four in-a-row between 2006 and ’09 and this summer they will be hoping to capture Liam MacCarthy for the third season in succession.
The always-controversial Loughnane said: “Looking at Kilkenny now and their personnel, there is no way that Kilkenny should be winning the All-Ireland.
“There is no way this Kilkenny team should be going for three in-a-row. Teams that won three in-a-rows were legendary teams. Now the present Kilkenny team is functional beyond belief.”
Kilkenny are in the hunt for another trophy first - the Allianz Hurling League Division 1 title - and they play Clare in the semi-final at Semple Stadium on Sunday, 17 April.
Fennelly says he is confident he will be fit to play in that game and he expects to be joined by two former Hurler of the Year winners, his brother Michael and Richie Hogan [above].
The Fennellys both left the action in last Sunday’s routine quarter-final win over Offaly with hamstring problems while Hogan didn’t start due to a back complaint.
Talking about his situation, Colin said: “Good yeah. I was actually at the physio on Monday and he said it was a strain. Hopefully I’ll be back for the Clare game
“When you pick up the ball and go again, just that pull. I went straight down and walked straight into the ice bath.
“Michael, he was just feeling a bit tight. He's always cautious of it and he just went off.”
Hogan pulled out of the game with tightness in his back, but won’t be sidelined for long, though defender Rob Lennon is expected to miss the next four to six weeks.
