"You can only imagine the confidence this will give these young players" Tipperary manager on promotion

As the saying goes “all’s well that ends well,” fully encapsulated the wonderful good-feeling for Tipperary on Saturday evening at FBD Semple Stadium after the county’s footballers had triumphed over London to gain promotion from Division 4 of this year’s Allianz National Football League.

The demotion to Division 4 at the conclusion of last year’s curtailed league programme had come as a tremendous setback to the game in the Premier County, and no one was more disappointed following that defeat to Longford than manager David Power. And while the early games of this year’s campaign didn’t make it look like they were going back up anytime soon, the team stuck to their task. Over five games in a taxing five week period, knocked off one by one, in a professional, workmanlike, controlled manner, the group got through the enormous undertaking in bite-size chunks. On Saturday night they concluded that almost Phoenix-like rise from their backs-to-the-wall position following defeat to Leitrim to victory over London, five games, five wins, promotion achieved, mission accomplished. Thumbs up to all involved.

The only thing bigger than David Power’s palpable sigh of relief on Saturday night last was his huge smile and the satisfaction of having delivered on something he believed in even when others had doubted it was possible. 

As they had done over the past number of weeks, Tipperary produced a “very professional performance” according to David Power, and he was immensely satisfied with that.

“I knew this was going to be a very tricky game. Everyone was saying that we were going to win by 14,15,16 points and no matter what the management could do, the players were listening to that kind of talk throughout the week as well. That was a concern to us. London as a team have come on in leaps and bounds this year, they are professional in their approach, they know what they are doing, they are very defensive and they are trying to counter attack all the time. But to be fair to our lads, I thought it was a very professional performance by us tonight. We were very patient all through, we got a couple of crucial scores early on and that is what it was all about.

“Tonight against London was about getting two league points. Tonight was about cementing what we have been driving towards since we beat Sligo here. Before that Sligo game we were concentrating on just getting that one win at that time, there was no point in even talking about any bloody promotion back then because we knew we had to get five straight wins in order to have that conversation. Every game we were under massive pressure because we knew we couldn’t lose a single one of them. To get over the line tonight I am just delighted for these players especially as a lot of them are not used to winning with Tipperary football and for them, right now, this is huge,” said the Tipperary boss.

Whatever way anyone likes to view it, the shift in form after the Leitrim game was almost seismic. That afternoon, on their home patch, Tipperary were put to the sword by Andy Moran’s side, 2-16 to 2-8. There was no place to hide from that in the vastness of FBD Semple Stadium, the performance simply wasn’t good enough regardless of absentees, injuries, excuses. A welcome weekend off, turned into a fortnight when the game in Wexford was abandoned just minutes before throw-in, and in hindsight, that may not have done his side’s chances any harm, he explained.

Promotion secured for Tipperary footballers after controlled win over London

“To be honest the training, and everyone would say this, the training was going quite well even going into the Waterford and Leitrim games but the results were really disappointing. But we felt we were getting fitter and stronger as each week went on. I think the break came at the right time for us and maybe that game being called off in Wexford the first day was a blessing in the end. That postponement meant we were playing Sligo first in Thurles and we got that vital win here against Sligo. I still fully believe that  if we had played like that in Wexford the first day and if we hadn’t had the Sligo game under our belts, I don’t know if we would have won. Definitely that win against Sligo was hugely significant and it set us up well for the rest of the league,” added David Power.

What will satisfy all involved now, especially with promotion secured, is that Division 4 football has given Tipperary a great opportunity to restock and replenish and develop new talent, according to the Tipp manager. 

“I think we have a 35-man panel and I think all the 35 have been on the 26-man match programme at some stage. I think we have used 30 players or so in the league and to get out of Division 4 with all that going on, sure that’s very important and very encouraging for us all. I feel that those following the game at times do not fully appreciate that we were playing with a lot of players not used to winning at any level, minor, under 20 or senior, and this success now is new to them. This team now has had five wins on the bounce, and you can only imagine the confidence this will give these young players, Hopefully that will drive them on further to do even better,” added David Power.

Thoughts now turn to next weekend and the Division 4 final for the two promoted teams, Tipperary and Cavan in Croke Park. 

 “Next weekend, there is no pressure really, tonight was the final, we are after getting promoted and that’s the main thing for us. I am looking forward to this week ahead, and we can have a real bang off Cavan again. I’m sure Cavan are going to be motivated as well, and like ourselves Cavan are going to be looking at the championship as well, I think they are out (in the Ulster Championship) before we play Waterford (Sunday, May 1). Right now, for us, the big thing is that we will have a lot of sore bodies after tonight and the emphasis now is just to make sure the players are going to be fresh for next weekend. And hopefully we can get the win and a bit of silverware would be nice anytime,” he said.

After the Division 4 final, the championship comes next for Tipperary with a different format in place this year. David Power wasn’t getting into the merits of a Sam Maguire Cup v Tailteann Cup preference though, as ever it is one game at a time for him.

“We are just over a month out from the championship now and we will take it one game at a time. Waterford down in Dungarvan, people saw it in the league, it’s not going to be simple, it never is in Fraher Field. But having all these wins on the bounce must help us massively and also getting a run-out in Croke Park and getting to a Division 4 final that’s big for our progress.

"We are going to have four weeks after the Cavan game next weekend to look at Waterford and we will certainly be taking Waterford seriously. Waterford are going to be fully motivated thinking they can beat Tipp and rightly so down in Dungarvan. However, I firmly believe that if we can play our game and if we can show a mixture of all our better performances from this league, and moving to ball fast, I think we will trouble Waterford,” concluded a well-satisfied Tipperary boss.