This article is from page 111 of the 2008-06-24 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 111 JPG
CLARE manager Mike McNamara was a hard man to tie down for a few words after the final whistle sounded Oye mO Len Tee hi
Semple Stadium officials said inter- views would be conducted in a media room, a stroll away from the dressing room areas, under the Kinane Stand. But when McNamara, Mark Flaherty and Jonathan Clancy piled into the room, journalists in tow, they found it full with match stewards, drinking tea.
McNamara, even in_ euphoria, wouldn’t hear of the room being cleared, so it was back to where we started, up by the Clare dressing rooms, the Clare manager shaking hands with jubilant Clare fans along STOWE NE
Thankfully, the route taken by Mc- Namara’s team so far this summer has been more straightforward.
Limerick were the latest side to feel the sting of the Clare attack, but even after wins over two of last year’s All- Ireland semi finalists, McNamara’s feet remain firmly planted on the ground.
“Tt’s a long time since we contested a Munster final, it’s actually nine years since we contested the final and it’s too long, really. We have to
put our best foot forward. We have to be contesting matches with the best and we’ve said that since the start of the year. We’ve nothing won yet. Limerick contested a Munster final and an All-Ireland final last year and they haven’t a medal. It will be a test of character and strength now.”
Goals win matches we’re told and Clare got plenty of them on Sunday. They also, vitally, McNamara point- ed out, got the breaks.
“We did get the breaks. We got the four goals. We got them at vi- tal times. That’s the only difference really. Limerick are still there, so it’s all to play for. We have to win Munster championship matches. We are a proud, crazy, I suppose, hurl- ing county. We have to win Munster championship matches.”
The game against Waterford proved a massive advantage to Clare “par- ticularly in the last 10 minutes,” said McNamara.
The Scariff man bemoaned the late dismissal of Brendan Bugler and said his team’s pride shone through again on Sunday, as he barely suppressed a chuckle at the thought of Tipperary in the Munster final.
“T think everybody looks forward to meeting Tipp. I don’t know what they do to the opposition’, laughed McNamara. “It’s the Munster final
again. It’s a huge day. It’s a great day for the lads. This team are self- motivating. They’ve led themselves from the start [despite] all the hul- labaloo about Mike and his selection team. This team are self-motivat- ing. A wonderful bunch of leaders. They knew they could go through their whole career without winning a Munster Championship match if they didn’t get out of the doldrums. We’ve a second step taken. It’s only a second step. It’s a wonderful time in Clare now to ignite the passion again. Maybe it went over our head a little bit in 1995-2000.”
McNamara revealed that Tony Griffin had been a serious doubt in the build up to the game and said that despite Griffin being given the all clear maybe it was the “wrong di- agnosis’.
As for his own role in Clare’s resur- gence, McNamara brushed it off say- ing, “I’ve been lucky in management. I’ve kind of arrived with good teams and good players. Nothing changes. The team wins games”.
So then. Clare are lucky, Clare are hungry and suddenly the summer ex- plodes with possibility.