Former Cork hurling boss Kieran Kingston says that managing an inter-county team is now a "professional commitment in all but name".
It emerged on Monday that Kingston had declined to take up the offer of a second two-year term in charge of the Rebels, despite a season of progress that saw them regain the Munster title.
Speaking to the Irish Examiner, the Tracton man revealed that he is "unable to combine my work and family commitments with the sheer amount of time needed for inter-county management at the top level.
"I’m self-employed and I travel with my work, which thankfully is very busy at the moment. This impacts on the time available for intercounty duties.
"As many inter-county managers have pointed out recently, only those involved at this level are aware of the sheer level of time commitment involved.
"It’s a professional commitment in all but name, and it amounts to a second full-time job for any manager who has ambitions not just to participate, but to succeed at the highest level."
"As everybody knows, the position of Cork senior hurling manager is a voluntary one. Certainly, financial considerations played no part in my accepting the position originally, nor in declining the offer of a further term recently - I simply could not and would not in any way commit to a further term unless I could give the position 100% in terms of the time and focus it deserves.
"Cork hurling, the players, backroom team and supporters expect and deserve that."
