Eddie Brennan believes that Galway have to get back to basics if they are to retain the Liam MacCarthy Cup this year.
The Tribesmen swept to All-Ireland glory last season and their early performances in the Leinster Championship saw them installed as favourites to go back-to-back.
But last Sunday they nearly came unstuck against a young and hungry Kilkenny side and now they face a replay this weekend at Semple Stadium with a few unexpected question marks hanging over them.
Cats legend Brennan says that Galway need to return to what worked so well for them in 2017.
"Looking at Galway, there’s a narrative that they have more progress to make," he said, speaking on RTÉ 2fm’s Game On.
"It’s a stick that Micheál Donoghue has to beat his players with this week. What he’ll be disappointed with is the clinical, decisive edge that they were missing, and the little bit of indiscipline; two or three times the ball was moved up.
"They’re the little things that can creep into teams that are trying to achieve things, such as back-to-back All-Irelands. That’s where the leadership has to kick in – Micheál Donoghue has to say ‘we weren’t whinging at refs last year’.
"They weren’t giving away a free that’s not in a scoreable position and then getting it moved up into a scoreable position. Those are the little things that make a difference."
Also speaking on Game On, former Galway hurler and footballer Alan Kerins agreed with Brennan’s sentiments.
"Galway didn’t really perform, the forwards weren’t as slick as they have been. Galway would have a little bit more room for improvement than Kilkenny would," said Kerins, who won an All-Ireland football medal with the Tribesmen as well as All-Ireland club titles in both codes.
"Micheál mentioned it during the week that maybe the players are starting to believe their own hype a little bit.
"The draw will hopefully begin to bring them back to earth a little bit. They need to focus on what got them to the heights last year, which was their work-rate and their aggression."
Because Croke Park is booked up for a Michael Buble concert this weekend, the Leinster hurling final will take place at Semple Stadium, Thurles.
Neither Brennan nor Kerins believes this will affect the game, though the Galway man did point out that the Tribesmen have a poor record against the Cats in the Tipperary venue.
Follow Galway v Kilkenny via our live blog on RTÉ.ie and the News Now App, watch live on RTÉ1’s The Sunday Game (from 2.20pm) or listen to commentary on RTÉ Radio 1's Sunday Sport.
