Big test ahead for Tipp footballers as Down come to Clonmel on Sunday for League opener

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION 3 (Round 1)

CLONMEL V DOWN, Clonmel Sportsfield, Sunday at 2 pm

Seven months on from Tipperary’s loss to Down last June in the All-Ireland qualifiers,  it is the Mournemen who will once again provide the opposition for Tipperary on Sunday next when the Allianz National Football League Division 3 commences  at Clonmel Sportsfield (2pm).

That defeat in Newry brought a very disappointing year to an end for Tipperary which included relegation from Division 2 of the League and a home championship defeat to Division 4 side Limerick. Ultimately it led to the resignation of then manager Liam Kearns.

On Sunday  a new year, indeed a new decade, begins in earnest with new manager, David Power, at the helm. The Kilsheelan/ Kilcash clubman will be hoping he can help kickstart a Tipperary revival but there is no doubt that a tough campaign lies ahead.

Cork, who were relegated from Division 2 along with Tipperary last year, and Down, who missed out on promotion from Division 3 in 2019  on scoring aggregates, are both  favourites with the bookies for the two promotion spots. Throw into the mix Derry, Offaly, Louth, Leitrim, Westmeath and Longford, and it is clear to see that there is a tough road ahead for the Premier County.

Speaking at a press event at the Anner Hotel on Saturday last, David Power, the former All-Ireland minor winning manager, targeted home victories as hugely important. And with just three of their seven fixtures to be played at home (v Down, Cork and Offaly) the importance of Sunday’s encounter against the Ulster side  isn’t lost on anyone.

Whether the management team wish to dwell on it or not, the unavailability of some of Tipp’s best talents, for one reason or another, is a huge loss as this league commences. The absentees include Michael Quinlivan, Liam McGrath, Josh Keane, Shane O’Connell and Liam Casey - all first 15 choices every day.

The Tipperary manager proclaims that he  is happy with the group of players he has assembled as he readies himself for the opening league game.

“We have a number of the u-20 players coming through who are bringing an element of excitement to the whole thing and we will have Colman Kennedy and Greg Henry back in the fold as well. Philip Austin is only coming back to us at this stage and Conor Sweeney is on the mend after injury,” David said.

Under 20 players who the manager mentioned as coming through are Sean O’Connor (Commercials), Riain Quigley (Moyle Rovers) and Mark Stokes (Kilsheelan/ Kilcash) but again he won’t be in any hurry to use them in the early stages of the league, keeping the under 20 competition in mind later in the spring.

TIPP WERE  SIMPLY NOT FIT ENOUGH IN THE LAST TWO YEARS

The former Wexford senior football manager   has identified fitness levels as being key and makes no bones about offering the view that Tipperary were simply not fit enough over the last few seasons, for different reasons. 

“I just feel that the fitness levels were not where they should have been over the last 24 months or so and I have tried to ensure that we change that culture.

“Our gym sessions are now supervised and we are doing everything we can to ensure that the players are fit and have the opportunities to be as fit as they possibly can be.

“The last 15 minutes in games have been an issue for us and that is something we are looking at and trying to do something about. We have collective responsibility to change the culture and we are on five sessions a week right now - three on the field and two in the gym.

“Ultimately, I see myself as a facilitator but if the players don’t buy into it all, you are in trouble. Thankfully they have bought into what we are about and there is a great spirit about – winning on Sunday would certainly help that and give us confidence,” he says.

It is almost four years now since Tipperary played a National Football League game in Clonmel - that very forgettable 2-13 to 1-5 defeat to Kildare in March 2016. (Incredibly Tipperary would play Mayo in an All-Ireland semi-final at Croke Park five months later).

Clonmel High School and Abbey CBS in Tipp Town should be two football nurseries says Tipp manager, David Power

David Power recalls that game when Kildare supporters outnumbered the Premier fans. 

And he would love to see that situation reversed on Sunday next as he encourages Tipperary followers to come along and get behind the new era.

For him personally, Sunday is a big day. He always had a burning ambition to be Tipp senior football manager and following on from leading the Premier County to All-Ireland glory in the minor grade in 2011, he always seemed destined to take up the role.

A stint of two years with the Wexford seniors was “the best thing I ever did” and he confesses to having learned more in that period than he could have imagined.

Indeed one of Power’s  two wins for the Model County in the 2015 Division 3 League - his first year in charge - was a game against Tipp in Clonmel, the already relegated Wexford  winning by 2-15 to 2-12 that day.

 “I took on that journey to Wexford because I felt I needed to break away from the group of players I had become so close to. I got two great years of experience in Wexford and I certainly came back a better manager for what I learned there, especially in terms of the importance of the backroom team and trusting them do their job,” he says.

David wants to halt the relegation rot with Tipperary and stabilise the league position in Division 3. That’s the priority and if Tipp can push for promotion, so be it.

After that, he suggests that four counties in Munster feel they can make the Munster Final – Tipperary included. “That would always be our goal,” he says. 

Of course a place in the Munster Final would see Tipperary automatically promoted into the Sam Maguire, while winning Division 3 would do likewise.