John Horgan on hurling: Cork's home form key to improving on this season

TWELVE months ago there was considerable upheaval on the inter-county managerial front with three of the five Munster hurling counties opting for change.

The status quo remained in Limerick and in Clare with John Kiely, for obvious reasons in Limerick and Brian Lohan in the Banner but Pat Ryan came on board to replace Kieran Kingston in Cork, Davy Fitzgerald taking the reins again in Waterford from Liam Cahill and the latter being appointed in Tipperary after Colm Bonner's departure.

No such happenings this time, it's as you were for the 2024 season which might still seem a good bit into the distance but before we know where we are it will be upon us.

With the inter-county season now ending in July, the break before we see championship action again is considerable, many still are of the opinion that the GAA is losing out massively to other sports where the marketing of its games is concerned.

And perhaps they have a point, nearly six months of the year goes by from the conclusion of the championship before the resumption of the next.

But as they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder and when the new season gets going again in January of 2024 with the playing of the pre-season competitions the interest levels will rise again and time will move quickly to the beginning of the championship campaign.

For obvious reasons, failure to make the desired impact the previous season adds a little bit more pressure in the managerial stakes and the message will be, must do better the next time.

Winning the national league gives a county a nice bit of momentum entering the championship but if you fail to impact in the latter, success in the secondary competition is quickly forgotten.

Very recently the schedule of games for next season's Munster SHC was released, the four games that each of the five counties will play at the group stage of the competition in their bid to extend the campaign into the All-Ireland series.

Again it's a hugely demanding schedule, four massive games with little or no margin for error if you are to be one of the three counties that will emerge.

Cork and Waterford failed to make it out of the group stage last season so their opening assignment against each other in April takes on huge significance. Waterford will have home advantage for that game at the new-look Walsh Park, their first championship game at the venue for two years.

That old ground will be heaving that day and it will be a test of character for both teams.

The perception is that if you are to be one of the three counties that will qualify for the All-Ireland series, winning your two home games is going to be of paramount importance.

Cork won one and drew the other of their home assignments last season and the point dropped against Tipperary ultimately cost them dearly.

There are no guarantees whether you are playing at home or away but two home victories puts a county in a very advantageous position.

With that point dropped at home to Tipp last season it was always going to be a tall order for Cork to get something from their two away games to Clare and Limerick.

In both games they came up short, losing by the bare minimum twice but it was enough to see their summer terminated.

Next season it's Waterford's turn to travel to Cusack Park and the Gaelic Grounds so it goes without saying that Davy Fitz will have his players primed for the visit of Cork.

A loss for Cork in that opening fixture would put them under pressure to get the maximum return from their next two games, at home to Clare and Limerick before the trip to Tipp in the final game.

The likelihood again is that very little will separate any of the five Munster counties but home rule will put you in a very strong position.

PRIORITY

Once again the approach to the national league by all the managers will be hugely interesting.

Kilkenny, under Brian Cody, were experts at successfully combining the league and championship and in recent times, Limerick have managed to do the same and only last season they won the double. The strength and depth of your squad can dictate things to a large degree and those Kilkenny teams and now Limerick have had that depth allowing them to target both the league and championship.

Of course, the main priority for all team bosses in the league is to field players that they believe have what it takes to make an impact if called upon later in the season It's staggering to think that Cork haven't won the league since 1998, 25 years and in that time have managed just three All-Ireland wins, a pretty dismal return on both counts.

The championship schedule is far more demanding now and it's very much about trying to peak at the right time. That's maybe the main reason that a lot of managers are now looking at the league differently and why its status is diminished.

Over the past couple of months, inter-county bosses and their management teams will have had a good opportunity to assess players that they might have had in mind who might have something to offer.

Whatever players they choose will be looked at in the pre-season competition, the Munster League and for some the national league. Here in Cork hands were not flying up in all directions in that regard but Pat Ryan is a very astute operator and he may well have seen something that may be of benefit.

Outside of John Kiely in Limerick, every other team boss in the country will be under scrutiny, the pressure to deliver will be greater.

All inter-county team bosses get a three-year contract when they are appointed. Expectation levels differ in each county but such is the current and very successful format, the minimum requirement is getting out of the province.

Cork and Waterford were the two that missed out in Munster last season and that makes their opener next April all the more significant.