Podge Collins insists talk of Clare’s fantastic underage successes of the past must end.
The Banner won 10 Munster and All-Ireland titles between 2009 and 2014 at minor and Under-21 level, with the Cratloe man involved in half of those.
Combined with their Liam MacCarthy win at senior level in 2013 under Davy Fitzgerald, it was suggested that this generation could go on to dominate hurling.
But Clare have failed to win Championship silverware in any of those three grades across the past five seasons.
Many of that Clare golden generation are no longer involved, and new manager Brian Lohan may undertake further surgery.
In their final season in charge, Donal Moloney and Gerry O’Connor finished fourth in Munster after big defeats to Tipperary (13 points) and Limerick (18).
“I’m not too sure,” he says of where they rank. “Realistically, the top teams like Cork have had our number for the past few years. Tipperary, we caught them down in Thurles (in Munster 2018), Limerick have been playing better than us.
“We’re not under any illusions of where we’re at, we’re at that kind of level, and until we prove otherwise that’s where we’re at. The onus is on us to bring it along.
“Whatever happened in the past, under-21s and underage, forget about it.
“It’s so long gone that it’s a completely new team and we just want to try... I’d love to get back to winning something but it’s easier said than done, especially when the competition out there is sostiff.”
Appointing a management team for 2020 was a protracted saga. The players felt moved to release a statement as the process dragged on, and eventually Lohan was installed.
“Ihad Brian in UL and I had him with Cratloe, so I’m well used to him,” says the 2013 All Star.
“A very passionate guy and a legend around Clare so it’s great to have him involved.
“Any of those players from 1995 and 1997, to get them back involved with Clare I think is very important.
Whether it be underage or senior, it’s great to see them involved.”
As for Sunday’s one-point win in Nenagh against the All-Ireland champions, Collins will no doubt take the positives.
They were behind heading into the final minutes — during which time the scoreboard stopped working — but dug out the result.
“With the scoreboard off, you hadn’t a clue what the score was really. Tipp were stuck on 1-14 for ages and I was like ‘they have definitely scored since’.
“I had to ask the ref what the score was and he told me Tipp were three up at that stage, so we were trying to circulate it around.
“Aron Shanagher came on wing-forward came and started winning a bit of ball and that helped turn it for us.”
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