Fresh angle to Clare dispute

The rumblings in Clare hurling continued yesterday when former manager Ger Loughnane said he was ready to take up another role within the county. While Loughnane stopped short of suggesting he wanted to take over as manager again, he did indicate his desire to get involved in the development and coaching of Clare hurling.

Loughnane's comments were made in a lengthy interview with Peter O'Connell of the Clare Champion, in which he stated his desire to return if "he had sufficient belief in the people that approached him". Such a return would only be with Clare, he said.

He was "committed to getting involved in developing squad coaching and underage training sessions in Clare", but that was "the only role that I would ever see myself involved in".

But on that subject, he said he was previously approached for a similar a role in 2001, but that had been "the last that he had heard of it".

Loughnane touches on several issues in the interview, including the controversial resignation of long-serving phyiso Colum Flynn and sports injury specialist Ger Hartmann, who early last week sparked the series of rows between Loughnane and certain members of the Clare management. Yet he refrained from adding fuel to the contentious comments about that set-up.

He also questioned the ability of members of the county board to handle the "mammoth task" facing the county of deciding where to establish new county grounds following development offers for Cusack Park in Ennis.

Despite stopping short of announcing his intentions to return to county management, Loughnane is clearly suggesting he still has the hunger to get involved with the development of Clare hurling, and that if the right offer came along that would almost certainly include the senior hurling position.

The Tipperary team to play Kilkenny in Semple Stadium on Sunday shows three changes from the side which drew with Limerick last Sunday. Damien McGrath, Ken Dunne and Johnny Enright come into the side at the expense of Liam England, Niall Curran and Shane McGrath.

TIPPERARY (SH v Kilkenny): B Cummins; D Fanning, P Maher, P Curran; D McGrath, C O'Mahoney, E Corcoran; K Dunne, E Brislane; B Dunne, C Morrissey, G O'Grady (capt); S Butler, J O'Brien, J Enright.