Shane Dowling says that Clare will need to adapt their tactics if they're to avoid back-to-back championship exits before the All-Ireland stage gets under way.
The Banner, All-Ireland champions in 2024, failed to get out of Munster last year, in part down to a depleted squad owing to injuries.
They face Tipperary on Saturday evening in Thurles (7pm) knowing that a defeat would leave them with their backs against the wall ahead of their last round-robin game away to Cork.
Manager Brian Lohan was highly critical of the black cards his team received in their defeat to Limerick last time out, and questioned whether his side were being more severely punished than other counties.
But 2018 All-Ireland winner Dowling, speaking on RTÉ's Inside Sport, says that Lohan has to mix things up a bit on the field if Clare are going to succeed.
"If Clare lose doing the same thing, there's going to be serious questions asked," said the Limerick man.
"If they lose and change things up a bit, at least they'll have tried something."
After conceding four goals in their opening game against Waterford, a game that Clare won, Dowling was surprised with their approach against his native Limerick.
"We did a pitch side (preview) and I said, 'Waterford got four goals, surely they're not going to do the same thing again against Limerick.'
"Very early on we saw Barry Nash and Peter Casey, in oceans of space, score goals for Limerick.
"Brian Lohan giving out about the amount of black cards. The reason they're giving away all the black cards is because of the way they play.
"The full backline have so much space in front of them. Then when they are, naturally enough, going to be beaten to a number of balls, you're either going to give away a penalty or a goal.
"He's an all All-Ireland winning manager and that can never be taken away from him. Tony Kelly described him as 'the God of the Clare people', and rightly so for so many reasons.
"I will say, there have been a lot of decisions made in the last couple of years that didn't go his way. For the second year in a row, if Clare don't get out of Munster, that's not going to be accepted.
"Tipperary also got four goals below in Ennis last year and really from a, from a tactical viewpoint, that's the one I can't wait to see; what are Claire going to do to make things different, to try and get a win.
"If Clare change things up, I would fancy them, but I think if Brian is stubborn and says, 'this is our way, this is how we won an All-Ireland, we're man on man,' I think that'd be the to the detriment of them."
Anthony Daly, who would All-Irelands with Lohan in 1995 and 1997, echoed Dowling's concerns but went on to say that he would expect a different Clare performance in Thurles from the one they gave against Limerick last time out.
"There are questions in the air," he began.
"It's been six years. Anyone in Clare, be it Ger (Loughnane), be it Davy (Fitzgerald), be it Brian Lohan, they're heroes forever. If they bring back an All-Ireland in Clare, we have only five.
"I was very underwhelmed. I actually expected a titanic battle in Cusick Park (against Limerick). We just didn't turn up to the battle like Limerick did and that was, for me, the worrying bit.
"I'd expect a response. I also think we're going to get a response from Tipp, because they were poor (against Cork)."
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