Minogue calls time for management team

Speaking after Tuesday’s defeat, manager John Minogue readily accepted that “the better team won”, before confirming that his management team’s term had ended.
“We have finished up tonight. We have done five years and that is quite a lot. I suppose we thought last year was our last but we decided to give it one more go. We have done our time and its time for a new voice.
“Obviously the guys who have been successful with the minors for the last few years are there. There’s a new group coming through and I think somebody else needs to come along and take this over. It’s hard to keep the energy going after five years and we are gone after tonight,” the St Flannan’s teacher confirmed.
Asked if this decision means he would be a candidate for the vacant senior manager’s post, Minogue responded, “we only made one decision tonight”.
Commenting on Tuesday’s match, he noted, “Limerick were by far the stronger and the sharper team. They set the tone and the pace of the game from the throw in. We were playing catch up all the time. Physically they dominated us and we found it very hard to compete in our half-forward line and our midfield. There was huge pressure on our half-back line. They were by far the better team and they showed that on the scoreboard”
Continuing he said “when we brought it back to two we hoped that we would be able to keep it going but within a couple of minutes, they had gone up the other end and had the ball in the net. That was like bursting the balloon. It sucked all the energy out of the Clare team and it drove Limerick on. They began to score points from 40 and 50 yards at will. There was just so much pressure on our back line as they were dominating the middle third of the field. They deserved their win and could have won by more. They missed a lot of scores as well”.
He wasn’t surprised by Limerick’s performance “They have been threatening for some time. Look at the amount of hurlers out there tonight who have won Harty cups with Ard Scoil Rís. That has brought them on. Clare have also won Harty cups with Ard Scoil Rís. Limerick hurling has progressed. If you take clubs like Na Piarsaigh in around the city, they are contributing very fine hurlers to Limerick now, something that didn’t happen over the last seven or eight years. Another thing which makes a big difference to Limerick is that a lot of their very good hurlers are big men who can compete in the air like Downes, Hannon, Dowling and those. They can score points from long range and they look confident doing it. A lot of them are playing with their senior side. They have improved a lot and they have the talent to improve. They were missing Mulcahy tonight as well. They had four guys well capable of holding their place at senior level. They dominated at half-back and midfield as well. They steamrolled us in the last 20 minutes,” according to the Clare boss.
Where to now for Clare hurling?
“There are a lot of good young fellas coming through. There are ten of this year’s U-21 team underage again next year and that maybe showed a bit in the physical stakes tonight, as Limerick were that bit more developed and more mature. Having nine or ten underage for next year plus the Clare minors which have won the Munster championship this year and last year, they should be able to pick up six or seven. Clare will be able to compete well at U-21 level in the next few years,” was the reply.