Larry Tompkins on Cork’s loss to Louth, John Cleary’s future and more

FORMER Cork player and manager Larry Tompkins believes the footballers are still heading in the right direction despite the disappointing defeat to Louth last Sunday.

The Rebels were beaten by the Wee County on a scoreline of 1-9 to 1-8 in the All-Ireland SFC preliminary quarter-final in Inniskeen. There has been a lot of debate on Leeside since the defeat as familiar failings cost the team once again.

“Cork were the better team against Louth but didn’t get a result,” Tompkins said.

“A lot of mistakes and missed chances and I think overall, there will be fierce disappointment. It would have been a long and hard journey for John [Cleary] and the lads coming back down on the bus Sunday night.

“It was a real kick in the teeth. Let’s be realistic about it, before the draw was made, you would have said whoever got Louth would be delighted and I am sure Cork were because the other two teams [Galway and Mayo] would have been stronger and that’s no disrespect to Louth.  

“But I have a great time for them and you wonder how a county with 36 clubs can be so competitive and beat Cork who have something like 260 clubs. It was a massive disappointing day and it has put a dampener on the progress that they have made in recent seasons.”  

Failure to reach the All-Ireland quarter-final would have to be seen as regression and despite Louth being a decent outfit, Cork should have had enough quality and know-how to get over the line. But, the man from Kildare looks at it with a glass half full attitude.  

“I would put Cork into the same bowl as Mayo,” Tompkins says.

“I know Mayo get more criticism than any other team. It was like a flip of a coin. Both teams could easily be in a quarter-final. Very fine margins. Cork are still in a good place, I do believe that. You take the likes of Colm O’Callaghan and Daniel O’Mahony, they were unknown players two years ago. They have done well with their clubs but were never really a feature on the county scene. The way those two players have progressed has been brilliant. I think Cork need more of those kind of players to progress further.

“Are there those players in the squad at the moment? There are other guys like Chris Óg Jones who has made progress. If you were told a few years ago that he would be playing for Cork and doing very well, you would have probably laughed.

“There has been progress made over the last few years and there are some really good young players on the panel at the moment. I love Tommy Walsh out of Kanturk, he’s going to really take off and be a really, really, good player. It’s about building the squad.” 

The Rebels have shown what they are capable of doing over recent seasons, none more so that the win over Donegal last month but two successive defeats since have ended the campaign.

“The win over Donegal was heart-warming,” Tompkins said.

“The fans flocking onto the pitch after the game, it gave a sense of pride back in the jersey again. Ok, the last few weeks have been disappointing but I just think they have to go away and take lessons from it.

“There are two things you have to have if you want to win at inter-county level, you must be driven and you must be obsessed. If the players don’t have those things, then you have a problem. The hurt of losing is tough, it’s how you respond. That’s the test of a sportsperson. This Cork team can compete against the best but now it’s about do you want it as bad as someone else wants it.” 

The future of Tompkins former Castlehaven teammate John Cleary as Rebels boss is uncertain, but Tompkins is hoping he does stay on for the 2025 campaign.

“John is a hell of a nice guy. He’s a Haven man and they love their football down there. I know John so well and I have great time for him. I texted John on Sunday night to keep the head up. 

“Please god he will hang in there, but it’s a major commitment as regards your life. It’s tough going but he has done a tremendous job as Cork manager. We will be all hoping in Cork that he stays on.”