Former Cork boss Pat Ryan denies All-Ireland final half-time row

James Cox

Former Cork hurling boss Pat Ryan has rubbished rumours about a half-time bust up during the All-Ireland final.

On Saturday, the Sarsfield man announced he wouldn't be continuing in the role after leading the Rebels to the last two deciders.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, he said suggestions that Cork's collapse against Tipperary was due to an internal fight were "absolutely, totally false".

He also confirmed the decision to not hold a homecoming if they lost was made weeks before the final at Croke Park.

"Sometimes fellas think that when you're the manager that you hear everything that's going on. I didn't hear it until I went back into work on the Thursday or the Friday. And I was like, ‘What are you on about?’ And then fellas were showing me text messages. And my attitude was, maybe we should have a fight. And that was my take. Absolutely, totally false. Absolutely no truth in it. And, look, the disgusting point from my part is that they were totally made-up stories, and then individual names were attached to it. And, look, absolutely, under no circumstances did anything like that ever happen in my time with three years involved with Cork.

"I’ve had absolutely no run-in or argument with any players. I've had plenty of good discussions with our leadership group. Plenty of honest chats. Same thing with our management group. You know what I mean? All those things were absolutely total garbage. And, look, to be honest, probably the most disappointing thing is that you had people that should know better who were actually thinking that it might be true. Not alone that, who goes in and has a big bust-up with a six-point lead?"