Niall Moran says Liam Cahill remains the right man to lead Tipperary but warned he needs to invest in youth, which could spell the end for legendary duo Seamus Callanan and Noel McGrath.
Tipp's season ended in disappointing fashion against Galway, where the two-point final margin of their All-Ireland quarter-final was largely down to wastefulness from the Tribesmen and some excellent shot-stopping by Rhys Shelly.
Cahill's side were unable to recover from a dire first-half performance at the Gaelic Grounds, which was similar to their shock loss against Waterford in the final round of the Munster Championship round-robin.
While Tipperary have brought through some talented players, former Limerick hurler Moran believes Cahill needs another four in order to push on and challenge for silverware.
Callanan (34), McGrath (32) and Patrick 'Bonner' Maher (33) are the last men standing from the Tipp side that stopped Kilkenny's drive for five in 2010 and went on to win further All-Ireland titles in 2016 and '19.
Watch highlights of Tipperary's All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to Galway
Speaking to Game On on RTÉ 2fm, Moran said: "When you’re taking over from a different management you’re trying to establish your own patterns, new S&C programs, you’re getting to know players. That takes a massive body of work right the way through winter into the league.
"You have to remember Tipperary, maybe out of Limerick and Kilkenny, were probably the top performers in the league. They started off really well in the championship but just that game against Waterford, they lost their way a little bit.
"They’ll be delighted that they’ve found some really good hurlers in Jake Morris - while it wasn’t his best performance on Saturday he still came of age - Alan Tynan, Conor Stakelum, Bryan O’Mara, Rhys Shelly.
"But at the other end of the scale, you see Séamus Callanan coming off at half-time, one of Tipperary’s greatest hurlers. It was probably Noel McGrath’s worst performance in the last two years, a lot of uncharacteristic wides in the first half.
"For Tipperary to push on, they might have to find three of four more [players]. There’s only so much these lads [Callanan and McGrath] can do.
"They’ve been pillars to Tipperary, legends, and they owe nothing to Tipp hurling, but if you’re to go and challenge, there comes a time where you might need to clear it out a little bit.
"They will have to find new players and that will be Liam’s challenge."
The loss to Galway brought Cahill’s debut season as Tipperary manager to an unsatisfactory conclusion, but Moran said there were real signs of progress under the former Waterford boss.
"He’s a person who wears his heart on his sleeve," said Moran. "Any of the players who’ve played under them, each and every one of them have played for him, right the way through from underage.
"Just watching him on Saturday, he just looked like a guy who was maybe struggling to come up with a couple of answers himself, but I think they’re really on the right track.
"He is the right man for the job. He will be scouring Tipperary trying to find a couple of more players. Tipp won the U17 All-Ireland last year; those guys will be coming on 19 next year. You could see him going with three or four more of these lads, giving them a good pre-season.
"It might be year three by the time Tipperary start achieving but with a guy like Liam over them, they’re on the right track.
"There’s lessons to be learned. They probably did run out of steam, they were flat, but sometimes that’s not always down to training. Sometimes guys just don’t turn up, and you can’t underestimate losing that game to Waterford. It would have knocked their confidence.
"For a new team, confidence is the only currency that matters."
'Liam Cahill will know that something has gone wrong in terms of their ability to peak'
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) June 25, 2023
The panel ask why did Tipperary's form dip so sharply over the course of the season
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Galway’s win over Tipperary saw them progress to an All-Ireland semi-final date with four-in-a-row chasing Limerick on 8 July. Moran didn’t expect them to beat Tipp after suffering a "sucker-punch" against Kilkenny in the Leinster final, but he believes the Limerick game is a free shot for Henry Shefflin’s side.
"The pressure is on Limerick, who are trying to achieve that massive feat of four All-Irelands in a row," said Moran.
"Nobody would have put Galway in the context of being All-Ireland champions three or four days ago, but you have to remember they’ve a lot of experience there. A lot of guys who have won All-Ireland medals are going to Croke Park buoyed by a little bit of confidence, and bear in mind they were very close to beating Limerick last year. Limerick have always found them tricky to shake off.
"We touched last week on the loss of Declan Hannon and how we replace him, and up to Saturday the favourite to replace him was Dan Morrissey. But you see Conor Cooney and the form he was in; he will take watching. That raises questions about who will replace Declan as they may need Dan in the full-back line."
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