Cork camogie manager Paudie Murray says that his charges will have to aspire to complete the three-in-a-row if they are to be considered 'a great team'.
The Rebels have retained the O'Duffy Cup following another tight encounter with rivals Kilkenny in what was their third successive meeting in the All-Ireland final.
Similar to last year, it looked like a draw was on the cards but an injury-time free from Orla Cotter proved to be the decisive score as the sides were separated by the same margin once again.
Murray initially indicated that this would be his last year at the helm with the Rebels before adding that he will take some time to consider his future and that he would like to be involved in some capacity next year.
But he said that the likelihood of Cork achieving a third consecutive All-Ireland crown will largely depend on whether some of their more experienced players like Cotter, Gemma O'Connor and his sister Aoife will commit to another year with the team.
"From the players’ point of view, I think every player wants to be considered to be a great player," he told a press conference while sporting a cut above his eye from running into a TV camera after the final whistle.
"I think every team would like to be considered to be a great team but to do that I think you need three-in-a-row.
"A lot would depend on Aoife, Gemma, Orla Cotter and whether they stay around or not. For me, I think if those three players want to be considered to be the greats of the game I think it’s important for them. Obviously it won’t be easy but that’s for another day."
Remarking on the game, Murray echoed Downey's frustrations regarding refereeing decisions but also stressed that 'the rules at the moment make it next to impossible for a referee to referee the game'.
He admitted that he was 'worried' when Kilkenny established a two-point lead coming into half-time before Orla Cronin levelled proceedings with two quick-fire points.
Murray also recalled his side's performance against Kilkenny in the National League final earlier this year, where Cork rallied from 10 points down to lose out by just one.
"It was important for us, we did speak about it. Not taking away from Kilkenny’s victory in the league but we were a shambles, we were just back from Fuengirola [Spain] and let’s say they weren’t doing warm weather training.
"We weren’t probably as good as we should have been. We showed a lot of character in the second half and we did it about two or three years ago when we were down nine points against Kilkenny in an All-Ireland semi-final and we came back and we won it by nine.
"I think that gave us a lot of strength coming into here that the key for us is not to crack and you’re always looking for evidence and the evidence is there."
This year's All-Ireland final was another relatively low-scoring affair, with the half-time scoreline reading 0-08 apiece and both sides heavily reliant on getting scores from frees.
Murray argued, however, that his side play the traditional style of hurling and are simply adapting to get the result.
"We’ve always gone to play open hurling and I think if you look at our scores this year, we put up big scores. It’s not our problem that someone goes with a sweeper. I read reports and it sickens me when they say Cork use a sweeper. We have never used a sweeper. Our centre-back doesn’t move out of position.
"You deal with the opposition and what they do.
"Kilkenny and ourselves have advanced the game dramatically over the last four or five years. I think both counties should be congratulated for that."
