'It’s hard to believe people have us down as the favourites for Sunday. It’s all based on us coming through three games against Tipperary, but everybody seems to have forgotten the hammering we got against Clare last year.' Limerick full-back Stephen Lucey finds it hard to believe his side are favourites to beat their Munster neighbours less than 12 months after they fell to a 17-point defeat in Ennis.
'It’s my first year with Laois and I’m learning about them, but it’s only in Championship football you get to know your players. We’ll find out the character of our players – and I think there is plenty of character there – and they’ll fight for the Laois jersey on Saturday night.' Laois football manager Liam Kearns expects his side to provide a stern test for Derry in Cavan.
'We have one goal at the moment, preparing well to face a good Galway team. We wouldn’t dream of looking beyond that. The semi-final is not on the agenda now.' Kilkenny manager Brian Cody in focused mood ahead of his side's SHC quarter-final clash with Ger Loughnane's Galway.
'At the end of the day the match meant nothing. The two teams were into a quarter-final anyway. You have to look at it like that. In Tipperary, we can’t get carried away with that win.' Tipperary's Lar Corbett refuses read too much into his side's surprise but deserved win over Cork.
'Is Leinster hurling competitive? The answer is absolutely not. The few times in recent years that we have challenged Kilkenny have been too few. Dublin’s revival is great. But Kilkenny won’t lower their standards so we’ve got to raise our standards.' Tony Dempsey, a former Wexford hurling manager and TD, throws his hat into ring on the Leinster SHC debate.
'For me the most pleasing thing about the Munster campaign was that they scored eight goal in their two games and not for the first time their finishing was the difference. Especially against Limerick. We have the best goal finishers in the game at the moment and that is a real bonus.' Former Waterford star Peter Queally pays tribute to Dan Shanahan, Paul Flynn, Eoin Kelly and Co.
'It is ludicrous and crazy. They were supposed to have some trick up their sleeve for the Dublin game but I didn’t see any tricks up in Croke Park. They were scratching themselves for about three quarters of the game. We have gone backwards from what I can see and some of the lads wouldn’t get on as a Maor Uisce on other teams. We are not making progress and it is about time we stood up and be counted. A lot of money has been spent in the county. We need bigger players, some with muscles because there are no muscles on some of them.' Ballylinan delegate Matthew Leonard gives his assessment of Laois' performance against Dublin in the Leinster SFC final.
Laois chairman Dick Miller replied: ' I don’t agree with you at all, I am very proud of the players and the management is good as any in the country. I have every confidence in the management, the team and I think that they can achieve great things. We have to take our beating and just get on with it.'
