Galway manager Micheál Donoghue insists his focus is on building a team rather than survival in Division 1A despite a comprehensive loss to Tipperary in their Allianz Hurling League opener on Sunday.
Though they had home advantage, the Tribesmen were seven adrift by the break and were somewhat flattered to only lose by 12 points - 3-25 to 2-16 - after late goals from substitutes John Fleming and Declan McLoughlin.
Donoghue, who is in the first year of his second spell in charge, having led Galway to All-Ireland glory in 2017, told RTÉ Sport: "Obviously disappointed with the result. The biggest thing we'd be disappointed with, the lads had trained well over the last few weeks and probably didn't transfer what we'd been doing on the training ground into a match situation.
"Today was a big learning. Relatively young team today, four debutants, so they would have amassed a lot of experience. I thought we did some things well. Obviously, we were trying to work it out in the back. Conceded a lot of turnovers, and every time we did that, we got punished from an experienced Tipp outfit.
"When we came out for the third quarter, we had 12 or 13 shots, I think, only scoring five and and then they go up the field and get another goal, which is a sucker punch.
"They stayed at it, stayed fighting. Probably opportunistic enough goals, but look, they still have to be taken. So, we take whatever learnings we can. Try and regroup again and go again next weekend."
Next weekend will be a trip to Nowlan Park, against a Kilkenny outfit that won in Ennis, and a second successive defeat would put the pressure on in a new-look seven-team top tier where two teams will be relegated automatically.
"I'm not really looking at that to be honest with you," said Donoghue. "Our remit is to build a team and that's what we're going to do.
"We're just taking it game by game and we'll get back to training Tuesday night. Look forward to the weekend."
Meanwhile, winning manager Liam Cahill says he's hoping to use the league to restore some pride in the Tipperary jersey after a tough 2024 that saw them finish bottom of the pile in Munster.
"Overall, happy with the display, really good attitude and desire from the players, which is number one," he said.
"We need to bring that real energy with us every day and build back up our stock from the way the championship ended last year.
"This is what we're going to do with this league: use it as best we can to start building blocks, putting in new players, getting some badly needed wins again to give everybody that shove on to get back to competing again with all the top teams."
With six senior debutants in his team today, Cahill was clearly looking to build up his squad ahead of April.
But, six years after the Premier County last tasted Liam MacCarthy success, he warned that getting back amongst the contenders might take longer than supporters would wish.
"It's very encouraging, from where we were at, and it's change that's coming, I think that's evident. I'm very clear, from my side, where the change needs to happen and what direction it's going in.
"I can't guarantee the pace of this change and I know that won't cut much slack with impatient Tipperary supporters.
"One thing I do know is that if we keep on the path we're going, there will be a lot of good players to serve Tipperary well into the future."
