Keith Ricken urges Cork minors to park Munster glory and 'be present' for Meath test

Keith Ricken has been around long enough to know that momentum can be powerful, but only if it’s handled properly.

Nearly three weeks on from Cork’s Munster MFC final triumph over Kerry, the minor boss says the biggest job since has been helping his young players come down off the high and tune themselves back into what he repeatedly calls a “new competition” ahead of Saturday’s Electric Ireland All-Ireland MFC quarter-final against Meath at FBD Semple Stadium (2pm).

The win over Kerry was seismic for this group — a statement performance, a trophy, and a breakthrough moment. But Ricken is adamant that Cork’s season cannot be defined by it.

“It’s a bit like a school tour,” he laughed, describing the days immediately after the Munster final. 

“They came back a bit hyper for a few days… everyone was talking about the success.

“The first training session back, the lads were still somewhere else… still stuck back in the Munster final. But after that, we’ve done a good few training sessions, played internal games, and there’s good competition for places. They’re back in a new competition, because it is a new competition.” 

Ricken and his management have done their homework. In fact, they were scouting Meath long before the Munster final was even played.

“After we won our first two matches in Munster, we were visiting a lot of the Leinster matches,” he said. 

“We’ve seen Meath a few times… and you’d be very impressed with what you see to be honest. Meath are a very polished team… very hard-working.

“As the game wore on in the Leinster final, I was half-thinking, would I want to play Kildare or would I want to play Meath? To be fair, Meath were unlucky to lose on penalties. I think this contest at the weekend will be the game of games.

“There’s no more second chance in this. A mistake or an error is punished more. We have to make sure our performance is more polished and less mistake-ridden.” 

Ricken is always conscious of the age profile he’s working with. He sees minor football as a controlled environment where players can “get a taste of growing-up stuff without being exposed to growing-up stuff.” Winning Munster was a milestone, but not a destination.

“When you’re only 15, 16 and 17, you’re only starting out in your journey. Everything is pushing on, it’s only the start of the journey. 

"We go mad for any fella that gets injured because he feels he should be there, but it’s also an opportunity for him to look at what else he can do, what he’s learning, what he’s taking from the experience.

“I’m just amazed every week… without fail, they’re all there. The atmosphere is lovely and the sense of belonging is real. 30 players have featured at some point in the championship to date.

“Not everyone will be happy at the weekend… someone has to be picked, someone not picked. But they’ve all really enjoyed it, and they’re all competing for places.”