With a shared experience of New York and Cork club football, Sunday's Munster final managers have much in common, reports Ian O'Riordan

For overwhelming favourites Cork and massive underdogs Tipperary, the pre-match instructions for Sunday's Munster final will be strikingly similar, with the words upset and shock not far from either manager's lips.

Cork's Larry Tompkins points towards some of the surprise results already seen in this year's championship. "You just have to look at what Waterford did to the Tipperary hurlers," he says. "And we had a lot of games in the Cork club championship where a lot of hot favourites were beaten. So I would say it'll be quite easy to get our lads ready for Sunday just by reminding them of what's happened over the last few weeks.

"Plus it's never easy when you're expected to win a Munster final, and we've had hard games with Tipperary down the years. We'll be leaving no stone unturned and we'll have no excuses if we are beaten."

Tom McGlinchey, the youngest intercounty manager around at 29, clearly has much less experience than Tompkins, though he's learnt enough already to know that anything can happen on the day.

"We'll be thinking too about the likes of the Waterford hurlers and the Limerick footballers," he says. "It's a whole new experience for us, but there's not a whole lot of hype either, so we're hoping we can slip into Thurles and maybe surprise a few people.

"But it's more important that the players just express themselves and enjoy themselves. There are good footballers, even though they come from a lowly county like Tipperary. I'd hate to think they could go out and freeze on the big day just because they weren't used to it. If they play to their ability, I think they'll be in there with a shout."

Despite the differences in experience, both Tompkins and McGlinchey have travelled similar roads to intercounty management, largely based on the experience of playing club football in Cork.

When Tompkins was drifting around New York in the mid-1980s, contemplating his future (and his past with Kildare), it was the Castlehaven club that helped give some direction back to his playing days.

"Well it was always my ambition to come back to Ireland. I came back and played with Castlehaven and things just started to happen. But it's something you can never plan. I enjoyed my days playing in Kildare and I enjoyed my days in New York. I was lucky to play with an outstanding club in Castlehaven. It's only a small little place but they are fanatics. So I got established in a Cork team that had great success at the time, and it just kept rolling on.

"After playing, becoming manager was the next best thing. But there's no doubt in my mind that playing was something special. Some people say I'm better off in the stand now because when I'm on the sideline I'm still playing."

For McGlinchey, who was born in New York but returned to Ireland with his family when he was five, the road to intercounty management started through Cork club Clyda Rovers. Based in the PE department of the Garda College in Templemore, it was his club success that actually opened the doors to management.

"As a player my own club winning the county intermediate championship in 1996 was huge, and we got to the senior semi-final in 2000. Larry will talk about the size of Castlehaven, but Clyda Rovers is even smaller.

"And in 2000, when Colm O'Flaherty took over as Tipperary manager, he asked me to get involved in the physical side of the training. So I built up a good rapport with the lads and when it came to 2001 they were looking for a new manager. Tipperary had already played three league games, and I think I was sort of the last resort at that stage."

He admits the first year was a baptism of fire - especially playing then All-Ireland champions Kerry - but with a stronger panel this year, most notably strengthened by hurling goalkeeper Brendan Cummins and with Declan Browne back after injury, there is a new steadiness about Tipperary football.

"Of course hurling is the number one in Tipperary, and until the footballers start winning something it will always be number one.

"It was hard at first trying to get through to players and get them to make the commitment. But that's changed this year and we have a good panel of 26 players who have great commitment."

Tompkins, meanwhile, reckons his team have reached a new level of maturity. "This panel has been together for three or four years now. When they started out they were young and immature, but in 1999 we could have got the breakthrough even as a young side.

"But Meath are probably the hardest team to beat in an All-Ireland final. I would hope they have matured now to go that bit further."