We’ve go to perform for 70 minutes: Ger Cunningham

Dublin hurling manager says Sunday’s relegation play-off defeat to Clare was a disappointment but that his men must now refocus for this summer’s Leinster Championship.

The Dubs face Galway in Tullamore on May 28 (4.0) and that is the real target now.

“It’s disappointing. You want play in Division 1A. That’s where you want to be,” says Ger

“But that’s for next year. We won’t be playing 1B until next year. So we’ve got to move on. We’ve got to take all the learnings from the games, reassess where we are and get ready for Galway.

“You’ve got to move on quickly. Like anything, it is what it is. We are where we are.

“The League is now over for us. We’ve got to look forward to Tullamore in May. That’s our focus.”

Dublin introduced some new young players to senior intercounty action over the league campaign who performed well but it’s the inconsistency in performances that the Dubs will work on.

The Dubs led by two points at half-time yet within four minutes of the restart were five down as Clare build a winning momentum.

“The players that are there, whether they’re young or not so young…you look at Donal Burke and some of the scores he got,” adds Ger.

“Maybe it wasn’t some of the young fellas. You’ve got to look all over the pitch and see where it’s at.

“We felt all along that we’ve got the best crop of players in Dublin representing Dublin at the moment.

“We’ll work with them. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to perform at that level. You’ve got to perform for 70 minutes.”