Donal Óg Cusack has praised the resilience in the Clare squad as they prepare to take on Galway for a place in the All-Ireland semi-finals this weekend.
After losing their opening game of the Munster Championship to rivals Waterford, the League champions were consigned to the qualifier series, but victories over Laois and neighbours Limerick have Clare back in the hunt for the Liam MacCarthy Cup.
Having bettered Waterford over two games to win the League, the Deise defeat was a blow to Clare's ambitions, but coach and selector Cusack, who could yet be required to step up on Sunday after manager Davy Fitzgerald's heart surgery this week, hailed the way the Banner men bounced back.
"You learn from everything, we learnt a lot from the Waterford game," the Cork legend told RTÉ Sport.
"They were deserving winners on the day. But since that day, we've been winning and kept winning.
"The lads have trained extremely hard. It's a question of what you can learn from each setback. We couldn't have asked any more from the attitude of the players. We're going in with great optimism."
The Tribesmen now stand in Clare's path to the last four and Cusack knows Sunday's game in Thurles offers last year's beaten All-Ireland finalists the chance to rebound from yet another defeat by Kilkenny in the Leinster decider.
"Galway were very close to winning an All-Ireland last year and so we are under no illusion as to challenge facing us on Sunday - but it's a challenge we are looking forward to," Cusack said.
"It's the real business end of the season now and everything that has gone before won't count for much now. It's a question of looking forward."
