Tipperary manager on 'big challenge' and likely 'underdogs' tag versus Kilkenny

"It’ll be a big challenge in two weeks’ time to go to Croke Park with a group of players that a high percentage of them won’t have played there. That will probably more than likely hand us the tag of being real underdogs [versus Kilkenny], to be fair, and rightly so."

That was the assessment of Tipperary manager Liam Cahill shortly after his team beat Galway in Saturday’s All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship quarter-final in Limerick.

“It’s a new experience for a high percentage, as I said, of our players, but it’s one that we’ll relish and it’s one that we have to go through as we try to progress," he said.

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"I suppose, if you’re to call it straight, we’re probably a little bit more advanced than we thought we would be in relation to our progression. So, let’s go in two weeks’ time and have a right cut off it and see where it takes us.

"There’ll be no margin for error up there in that place (Croke Park). It’s unforgiving up there, isn’t it? Kilkenny know that (place) like the back of their hand, they’re playing day in, day out in it. We won’t use that as an excuse, obviously, we’re not, but we have to highlight that it is a concern.

"But, when you take the field in a Tipperary jersey, you always like to think you have a chance."

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With just four teams left in the championship, does he think that the race for the MacCarthy Cup is wide open?

“Cork are still raging hot favourites. I’d say there's only one man smiling tonight, and that’s Pat Ryan. We have to prepare and fix a few things that we need to go after after today for two weeks’ time and try and embrace the huge challenge."

The race for Liam MacCarthy is quickly reaching boiling point as Kilkenny, Cork, Dublin and Tipperary gear up for thrilling semi-final showdowns at Croke Park.

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