Brian Phelan happy to have played his part in the Glen's return to the top table of hurling in Cork

The celebrations at the Glen Rovers club after they on the Co-Op Superstores Senior A hurling championship were at fever pitch and for selector Brian Phelan it was to time to reflect on a job well done by all concerned.

“Losing wasn’t an option and right from day one the preparation from video analysis to strength and conditioning everything was done with only one result in our minds,” Phelan said.

When Tomas Mulcahy was appointed manager, he ensured his coaching staff and management team were right for the club and team.

Mulcahy was the conductor of the orchestra and Phelan paid tribute to the great man.

“I think Tomas got the complement of people right as all us brought something to the table in terms of our hurling experience.

“Tomas pulled the strings and his passion for the Glen is something I have never seen in GAA and he would move mountains for our club, and it fed into to the management right through to the team and thankfully it all ended well for him.” 

The Glen chief also introduced former Tipperary player Tommy Dunne as coach.

“Tommy Dunne is the full package as he is charismatic and a major presence in the dressing room and he’s understanding of the game and how he delivered his advice to the players is the best I have ever seen, added Brian.

Kilkenny born Phelan has experienced winning county titles in his own county with titles also won in Dublin playing with UCD.

Looking back on the route to the final Phelan reflected on his team’s professional approach.

“After coming through the group against Killeagh, Inniscarra and Ballyhea we went straight into the semi final and in the four week break we struggled to get quality challenge games with the exception of Rapparees from Wexford.” 

The Glen man felt the four-week break was a challenge for the team.

“It was a tough time going into the Castlelyons semi final as we were not fully ready, but we studied their form and we wanted to get the match ups right as some worked, and others didn’t on the day.

“The most pleasing thing for us was the manner we finished the game as 12 months ago we possibly could have lost a similar one but credit to the lads their unity and belief was there when we needed it and we booked our place to the final.” 

When Blarney produced a blistering finish to their semi-final win against Bride Rovers many pundits felt they would test the Glen in the decider and Phelan admits the management team put a plan to together.

“We placed a lot of trust on how we were structured throughout he season as when Dunne came in, we began playing wide and deep and we did a lot of work doing various scenarios in games at training.” 

This season it noticeable that Glen Rovers had an eye- catching of playing direct hurling into their forwards.

“As a player when different situations arise on the pitch knowing what to do is crucial and I can honestly say the lads were very tuned in going into the final against Blarney.” 

The pressure going into the final was something that Phelan never experienced before in his career.

“There was huge pressure on management and players just to get us over the line and back up to the Premier Senior level and believe me it was really intense.” 

In the words of Phelan it was like preparing for your Leaving Certificate.

“We felt we had all work done and we just went into the game confident whatever Blarney would throw at us we were ready to match them.

“In fairness to Blarney they had marquee players and we needed a lot of preparation in getting the match ups right and I think largely we got that right.” 

Conditions on the day were tricky as Phelan believes both sides had it to contend with.

“You can never predict the weather and in the first half we were playing with the wind and went in with a 10-point lead and we were wondering was it enough at the break as our lead wasn’t a huge one in the modern game.” 

No doubt the Glen enjoyed their win, but all eyes will be on them next season on how they will compete at a higher level of Cork hurling.

“I think our conveyor belt hasn’t stopped as we won the last two Cork Minor hurling county championships and if we can a few players to move up a level in the coming years we should be okay.”