Allen to take time for contemplation

Cork manager John Allen and veteran forward Brian Corcoran won't be making any immediate decisions regarding their future in the wake of Sunday's All-Ireland disappointment. It had been speculated before the defeat that both would be winding up their involvement with the team after the final.

Speaking at the team's hotel in Dublin yesterday, Allen said he needed to think about the future and consult people before making up his mind.

"I do have a decision to make and I'll make that decision over the next few weeks. I won't make it today, because I need to reflect and talk to the other very important people in our backroom team.

"Obviously managing intercounty teams takes a huge amount of time. There's a lot in managing people and elite athletes. It's a decision not to be made lightly because of all those factors."

Corcoran, who retired for two years earlier this decade before launching a remarkable comeback in 2004, was in downbeat mood and not about to jump to a hasty decision.

"It's hard to know," he said when asked would he be around for next year's final should Cork make it back for the fifth successive year. "Twelve months is a long way away. We'll be back to the club championship now and see how that goes, but I certainly won't be making any decisions today or tomorrow.

"It's hard to think about anything today. You just want to get out of here and get home. The thought of going back training wouldn't exactly appeal to you, but at the end of the day it wouldn't be worth anything if it didn't hurt losing."

Cork's rationale for Sunday's reverse was simply that Kilkenny were too hungry and relentless, mirroring in many ways the performance that the deposed champions had put in two years ago when denying the same opponents a three-in-a-row of All-Ireland titles.

"Their hunger was a bit stronger than ours, which maybe was fading a small bit," according to Cork centre back Ronan Curran, who had started the match in imperious style but found himself dragged into a scrap for possession and distribution as the final wore on.

"They deserved their win, to be fair. They had their homework done, especially for puck-outs. They lined out five across the half-back line for every puck-out and knew what we were up to. They actually swarmed around us anytime we got the ball."

Allen said there had been no inkling his team might struggle to match the fervour of their fired-up opponents.

"Training had gone extremely well and we'd no injury problems or club matches. We were very happy with the standard of fitness and freshness we had going in, but Kilkenny were more intense than us and it was a very tactical game puck-out wise.

"The better team won because they applied themselves better, were more eager. The game never opened up and remained a dog-fight until the end."

He said that whereas Kilkenny's febrile commitment hadn't come as a shock, the Leinster champions' ability to sustain that tempo hadn't been expected.

"I was surprised that it lasted a full 72 minutes. Whatever else we've had, we've managed to up the gear in the last 10 minutes of all our games over the past four years, but we weren't allowed do it yesterday.

"On reflection we didn't recover from the goal before half-time. In a tense, dour struggle that goal kind of hung there. We got it back to two points, but never below that.

"I think even with 10 minutes to go we were under pressure. We even changed our half-back line, which we haven't done in the past two years I'd say. We switched Tom (Kenny) and John (Gardiner) and then took Tom off, and that told its own story, reflected the pressure we were under."

The Goal challenge will take place in Nowlan Park tomorrow evening at 6.30. New All-Ireland champions Kilkenny will play county champions James Stephens.

Tom Ryan, who brought Limerick to the 1994 and '96 All-Ireland hurling finals, is ready to give it another go. He is included in the nominations for the post of Limerick hurling manager for next season.

Ryan, who incurred the wrath of officialdom following several media outbursts, and who did not take too kindly to his dismissal within hours of having won the league title in 1997, has been associated with a number of club teams, as well as Westmeath, in recent times.

Richie Bennis, who assumed control after Joe McKenna quit after the heavy All-Ireland qualifying defeat by Clare, is also under consideration.