Cork football manager Ronan McCarthy says the 12-week ban handed down to him for the Rebels’ training ban breach had no effect on the team.
McCarthy appealed the decision after the Lee-siders were found to have gathered at Youghal Beach in January, but was back on the sideline in Thurles on Saturday after his suspension had elapsed.
The Cork manager was reluctant to get drawn on the issue after he watched his side fall to Kildare, but did say his ban did not impact the team.
“I am not going to talk about that now. I’ll have something to say about that at a later stage. My focus is on the game today,” he said after the loss at Semple Stadium.
“I think, to be fair, there is a very quick turnaround to the next game and I think people have to realise this was back in January, we have moved on from this months ago. And to some extent, it had no effect on the team at all. It was a personal suspension and is certainly not something I am going to be talking about today.
“Maybe at a later stage when we have some time on our hands we can have a more in-depth discussion on the mechanisms of the GAA disciplinary system.”
- Classy Kildare too strong for Cork
Last year’s Munster finalists started well against the Lilywhites, leading 0-4 to 0-1 after 10 minutes. However, the Leinster side took control in the second half to deliver a 2-12 to 0-14 victory.
“Disappointed with the defeat. In a seven-round National League, the first game is always important; in a three-round League, it is even more important,” McCarthy lamented.
“We really wanted to get off to a good start, it is disappointing to lose the game. I thought we played great stuff for 20, 25 minutes, but didn’t translate it on the scoreboard which was probably the most disappointing part of it.
“The two quickfire goals put us under pressure. We tried to get back but we left ourselves with a lot to do. The big regret is the first half.
“Kildare are a good side,” he continued. “They have a shrewd manager and they are probably a bit further down the line than us, but I thought we looked a really good side in that opening period, mixed our play well between hitting on the counter-attack and being patient.
“Kevin O’Driscoll got a great score at one point where we kept the ball for two minutes, but we kind of started snatching at other chances. We went in behind at half-time and I felt we should have been three or four ahead.”
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