The accidental manager is nothing of a fluke

Seán Moran talks to Cork's John Allen about his first year in the job and their attempt to retain the All-Ireland title for the first time in 27 years

John Allen's journey as an accidental manager proceeds. By Sunday evening he'll either have emulated his predecessor by ending his first year with a Munster title and an All-Ireland final defeat, or else he'll have surpassed Donal O'Grady's achievement and won the MacCarthy Cup at the first attempt.

On the face of it, the offer to take over from O'Grady should have been handled with care. The history of selectors stepping up to take over from All-Ireland-winning managers isn't an altogether happy one, and there were questions about whether Allen's relaxed, thoughtful demeanour would succeed in driving a team to back-to-back titles.

"I'd never had any want or need to get the job," he says. "I said last year that whoever took over from Donal would have a big job to do. I knew he was resigning, but the usual names were being mentioned: Gerald Mac (McCarthy) or Tomás Mulcahy or Seánie Leary - or Ger Loughnane, who was even mentioned.

"I wouldn't be in their category as a former player, so I didn't see myself fitting in. But the county board wanted to keep the structure together."

Maintaining the almost military logistics of the team preparations would be helped by the fact that so many of the backroom team decided to stay involved. At last week's media event, Allen made a point of seating all of his assistants and advisers at the table and introducing them to the reporters.

Players have also remained on the panel and the seriousness of senior figures on the team sets a tone.

"He's the most 'professional' amateur sportsman I've ever come across," is the manager's verdict on this year's captain, Seán Óg Ó hAilpín.

In as much as anything has intruded into the preparations, it is the identity of this weekend's opponents. For the past two years Cork have faced Kilkenny, and the rivalry was expected to be renewed in this season's final. Nonetheless, Allen denies that Galway's exhilarating defeat of Kilkenny came as a particular surprise.

"It wasn't really. We played Kilkenny in the past two finals and knew each other well. Maybe it's made us sit up and think, 'we've got to come up with new plans', but I wouldn't say it was a shock. I certainly didn't think Kilkenny were going particularly well over the past while. Now, I probably still expected them to win.

"From your point of view (media) I'm sure it's better to have a different pairing in the final - at least you have a few more stories."

He agrees, however, given the impetus defeat gave the team two years ago, that it's better not to have to face a Kilkenny team bouncing back from last year's reverse.

"Absolutely. I said a while ago that it's roles reversed for us. In 1999, we came up as a new team against Kilkenny. Galway have got in the same vein this year where they're a young team with plenty of speed. We're the champions and champions are there to be knocked down."

Although the team are just 70 minutes from retaining the All-Ireland for the first time in 27 years, they know that their form this year hasn't been totally convincing. Capable of doing better, Cork have been adequate to each challenge and little more. Allen has higher ambitions for the final.

"I'm hoping that we'll produce a longer period of dominance in this game. We've played sporadically in games: half an hour good, a quarter of an hour not so good and the same again. I'm looking for a sustained period of the good hurling that we are training to produce."

Allen's background as a team masseur and then selector means he has established over the years good relations with the players, certainly more sympathetic than those a manager might expect to maintain with his players. But his experience of team liaison has been used to keep players reassured and to anticipate any problems.

"We try and keep lines open between the players and the backroom team to try to avoid things maybe like what happened with Corona (the ambush marketing stunt that involved two players wearing advertisements on their boots) - that was a breakdown.

"I did that with the players all the time over the past two years. I represented Donal with the players over those few years. That's where that started. It's to make sure that there are no issues going on that we should know about or issues that are troubling the players. It's a matter of keeping ahead, pre-empting whatever problems might arise. That's all."