WHILE basking in the glory of guiding Cork to their 55th Munster SHC title, Pat Ryan already had one eye on the bigger picture.
Dislodging an outstanding Limerick team from the provincial summit was an achievement to savour but Ryan hopes the ultimate victory will be accomplished next month.
Conor Lehane, Shane Kingston and Alan Connolly netted in the Gaelic Grounds penalty shootout that sent the Mick Mackey Cup to Leeside for the first time since 2018.
That it occurred just 20 days after Cork suffered a 16-point hammering against Limerick at the same venue made the triumph all the more remarkable.
For Ryan, the satisfaction came from seeing his players deliver a performance that was a much truer reflection of their capabilities.
But the Cork gaffer said: “This is just the start. This is just one thing. We move on to the All-Ireland series, the semi-finals.
“We know we’re a really good team. We saw what we were like when we weren’t at it three weeks ago. It’s all to play for.”
While the remaining two places in the last four of the Liam MacCarthy Cup race will be up for grabs over the next fortnight, Cork can rest assured that their ticket to a semi-final on July 5 has already been punched.
Having played six games in nine weeks – including National League and Munster final victories – the Rebels are now facing into a four-week lay-off.
Ryan said: “It’s probably going to take a bit of managing now. That’s something that we haven’t accounted for before.
“Limerick have plenty of experience of how they deal with that. That’s your four weeks off to manage properly and probably get a bit of advice from fellas that have done it before.”
The intermission should also give Cork a chance to ease their injury issues after Niall O’Leary (groin) and captain Rob Downey (hamstring) were restricted to roles off the bench against Limerick.
Declan Dalton (hamstring) played no part at all, while Ger Millerick also missed out due to fracturing his finger in the win over Waterford a fortnight ago.
Ryan declared: “I’d say everybody will be OK. We’ll be in a good position.
“Ger Millerick is three weeks in a brace, whatever length of time that is from the Waterford game, to try and get him back into it. But he should be OK.”
Cork suffered extra-time heartbreak in last year’s All-Ireland final. But Ryan felt his charges were better equipped to deal with the challenge this time.
He added: “We were definitely calmer. We had no injuries.
“The last day against Clare in the All-Ireland final, there were three or four fellas with cramps and injuries and you were saying, ‘Will we bring them off or will we stick with it?’
“That made life a bit easier.”
