Cloyne have put relegation behind them: 'There's great excitement around the club again'

Cloyne manager Cathal Cronin says there’s excitement back in the club again as the hurlers look to find their mojo.

Gone are the days for now when they were competing at the business end of the top grade in Cork hurling. Relegation from the second grade last year means they have to navigate the bearpit that is the Co-Op SuperStores PIHC this season, not for the first time though.

Promotion from the RedFM Division 6 Hurling League was a great start to the campaign under the new management.

“Last season was tough, it had been coming for a year or two,” Cronin says.

“We just had to regroup over the winter, the lads went back training last November. We wanted to get going fairly quickly, did a lot of gym work and brought in a new strength and conditioning coach. Since the start, we couldn’t have asked for a better effort than what they have given us to date.

“The key thing that we have been trying to get into the players is trying to play the Cloyne way, which is to train hard and stick together. The lads have really committed to this and we are trying to bring in a new culture into the set-up again.

“The aim at the start of the campaign was to start winning matches again. The league and championship results don’t lie, you get relegated if you don’t perform. It was nice to win promotion from Division 6 of the league, it brought confidence and belief back.

“The big target was to win matches and we have done that so far. The players were sick of losing matches. It’s early days, but we are pleased with how it's going.” 

While results have been positive for Cloyne as they head into the start of the championship this weekend, Cronin knows that they will have to be at their best to have any chance.

They face arguably the favourites for the Co-Op SuperStores PIHC title in Carrigaline on Sunday in Cobh at 3pm. After that, Cloyne face Ballymartle and Éire Óg in the group phase.

“There’s always a buzz about hurling in Cloyne. Alright, the last number of years didn’t go to plan, but the lads didn’t go out to lose the matches. Sometimes you just get into that kind of run. Look, there's great excitement around the club again after winning a good few matches already this year.

“We are looking forward to getting the championship underway this weekend. It’s a huge challenge for us. Carrigaline reached the final last year and will be serious contenders again. They played Division 1 hurling this year whereas we were down in Division 6. That’s a huge gap.

“It’s like this, every fella that we will bring down to Cobh to take on Carrigaline will give it everything for the Cloyne jersey and at the end of the day, that’s all you can ask for. The main thing is to turn up, perform and play to our potential. If we do that, we won't be too far away.”