Gaelic Games

Limerick look to end losing streak against confident Cork

Jimmy Lee’s side hope to upset the odds in Sunday’s Munster quarter-final

Limerick manager Jimmy Lee insists there have been positive signs amid his team's winless run. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho

Wed Apr 3 2024 - 06:00

Limerick’s footballers are hoping to end an 11-month winless streak when they travel to Páirc Uí Chaoimh for a Munster quarter-final against Cork on Sunday.

The Treaty County’s last competitive victory was a Tailteann Cup group stage win over Carlow last May.

So far this term Limerick lost their two McGrath Cup games in January before suffering relegation from Division Three by registering seven straight league defeats.

They have now suffered consecutive relegations – Limerick were competing in Division Two in 2023 but will next year operate in Division Four. It is not exactly a line of form that suggests an upset is on the cards in Cork this Sunday afternoon.

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“Losing is never a happy place to be,” says Limerick manager Jimmy Lee, who is in his first year at the helm of his native county.

“But to be fair about it, there are a few green shoots there, we have a lot of new lads coming through that have been integrated.

“There are three legs to the stool in terms of an intercounty set-up – you have the county board, the management team, and you have the players. We all need to be functioning together as a unit.

“You can’t have one of us coming to the party and the other two legs not. To be fair, the county board are doing their bit, the players are doing their bit and hopefully we are getting there.

“There are a lot of learnings going on, both on the players’ side of it and on the management side of it. We would have learned an awful lot over the last few months about the standard that is required. We need to get lads up to that standard.”

Cork finished this year’s league with something of a surge, managing to go unbeaten in their last four Division Two outings, and the Rebels are now strong favourites to get their championship campaign off to a winning start this Sunday.

But Lee says Limerick have no intention of providing the Rebels with an easy passage towards a Munster semi-final against Kerry.

“What is the job about only trying to leave Limerick football in a better place than you got it,” he says.

“Would you doubt yourself? At times you probably would, that’s natural, that’s human behaviour, we all doubt ourselves from time to time, I’d be no different in that regard. But it is what it is, you get on with it and you keep fighting.”

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