Limerick manager TJ Ryan accepts that his side are expected to win promotion from Division 1B of the Allianz Hurling League but he insists that failure to do so would not spoil their season.
The Treaty County have been high achievers in the championship in recent times, winning the Munster title in 2013 and reaching the All-Ireland semi-final again last year, but have not played in the top division since 2010.
“I’m sure the expectation would be like that [to get promoted],” Ryan told RTÉ Sport. “It’s going to be difficult, we keep telling people that. If you look at the games that we have, it’s not going to be easy.
“The games are going to be tight. Even in the games that we played in January, they were tight enough as well, so I don’t think it’s going to be any different.”
“I certainly wouldn’t see it as imperative. It’s something that we would like do, we want to do, we are certainly going to be trying to do but I wouldn’t see it as the be-all and end-all.
“The last two Munster championships have been won from Division 1B, so that tells its own story, I think.”
Limerick were set to take their place in an eight-team Division 1 in 2012 before the controversial reorganisation of the bracket into six-team 1A and 1B sections. They also finished top of the second tier in 2013 but lost the promotion final to Dublin.
Further tweaking of the format, in the shape of the introduction of quarter-finals, has resulted in the slightly bizarre situation where the teams coming in the top four of 1B can win the league title outright but fifth and sixth-place finishers in 1A can’t.
Ryan resists the temptation to slate the system, however, stating that it’s up to Limerick to overcome whatever obstacles are put in front of them.
“A lot of formats have been bandied about but it is what it is right now,” said Ryan.
“We’ve struggled to get out of Division 1B over the last number of years so we can’t really be complaining about it.
“It is competitive and I don’t see this year being any different. That’s the cards we’ve been dealt so we just have to get on with it now as far as I’m concerned.”
“Anything that’s gone on in the past, even last year’s championship is history as far as we’re concerned. 2015 is a new year.
“We will be taking Division 1B very seriously. We’ll be starting on Saturday night with a game against Waterford at home. It’s a game we want to win and we would feel that if we can win that it would give us a good platform for going forward.”
“The last two Munster championships have been won from Division 1B, so that tells its own story"
Ryan also revealed that forwards Kevin Downes (knee) and Seanie Tobin (hip) were recovering well after their respective surgeries but that Downes was unlikely to see action until the latter stages of the league campaign.
“Kevin probably won’t be back until around mid-March and Seanie is not far off being back but he’ll certainly miss our first two opening games.”
As for lessons learned after pushing Kilkenny so close in the All-Ireland semi-final last year, Ryan says developing a clinical edge is the main aim this season.
“Last year we wanted to make sure we performed every day we went out. We did that,” he said.
“We didn’t score a goal against Kilkenny and they got two at the right time. I suppose when the opportunities come your way, just having the ability to take them and grind out results.
“We just want to try and get back to Croke Park and do that, try and improve in those areas.
“There isn’t a lot between a lot of the teams. The ability to get results on a given day has been Kilkenny’s forte, and the ability to get goals. Goals win matches.
“Over the last couple of seasons we've been competitive and brought a lot to the table. But, at the same time, we'll be looking for more. Last year we wanted to get to the All-Ireland final but it didn't happen. We saw it as a disappointment at the time.
“From our point of view it's a new season, we need a lot of things to go right for us, we need new guys pushing hard, we need a bit of luck and we need to stay injury-free. All those things are very important.”
