All the hype surrounding a certain managerial appointment in Galway has allowed Gerald McCarthy to slip into his new job in Cork relatively hassle-free. That process was helped by the fact that McCarthy was always the county board's leading candidate, and while he originally turned down the job, once he reconsidered there were no regrets - not yet anyway.
The former Waterford manager begins his new job in earnest with Sunday's hurling league clash with Offaly, the first real test of Cork's hunger since losing the All-Ireland final to Kilkenny. So McCarthy's first impressions suggest a team ready to rise again.
"Having done a stint with Waterford for five years I always felt I'd like to put something back in with Cork hurling again, if I was ever asked," he says. "Initially, I felt the time wasn't right for me this year. I declined at first, and the committee accepted that.
"But then the seven-man committee came back to me again, to reconsider. It was only then I gave it serious consideration, and I felt that maybe the chance wouldn't come around again. But the main reason was just looking at the quality of players in Cork at the moment. They're a magnificent bunch, very talented and very dedicated."
Yet Cork's league form of recent years has been poor, and that's one thing McCarthy will be seeking to correct straight away.
"We'll be trying to win every game, but we will be team-building as well. We've 30 players on the panel, and we want to give each of them the chance to establish themselves and impact on our championship. Because we'll need that if we're going to be successful. We have a lot of experience, but the big question mark is over hunger. Four All-Ireland finals in a row takes a lot out of a guy.
"I also feel the team are still hurt by that defeat. Only three points in it, but the players know they didn't play their best in the final. That stings a good player, so they're looking forward to the new season to put things right again."
He added: "But we'll expect to win our two home games, and maybe two of the three away games, and that would certainly help us qualify for the quarter-finals, or semi-finals."
McCarthy has been doing his bit to keep things fresh, introducing youngsters Patrick Cronin and Eoghan Murphy for Sunday. Cronin will line out at right half forward while Murphy, a younger brother of team captain Kieran, has been selected at right corner forward.
He's also been trying to reinvent the "Rock" - as opposed to the wheel - by placing regular full back Diarmuid O'Sullivan at full forward. "I think a wheel is at least easier to turn than a rock," says McCarthy. "But he's up at full forward. He was a little like a fish out of water in his first game there, but he improved a little the next day, and in his third game certainly showed flashes of what a good full forward can be like. He's got tremendous strength, and is a very strong, powerful hitter around the goal.
"If he continues to improve he certainly gives us options up front."
Seán Óg Ó hAilpín also returns for his first game since the All-Ireland final, while John Gardiner wasn't considered for selection because of illness.
CORK (SH v Offaly): D Óg Cusack; W Sherlock, C O'Connor, B Murphy; G Callinan, R Curran, S Óg Ó hAilpÍn; K Murphy, T Kenny; P Cronin, N McCarthy, T McCarthy; E Murphy, D O'Sullivan, J Deane.
LIMERICK (SH v Tipperary): B Murray; W Walsh, S Lucey, D Reale; P O'Dwyer, B Geary, P Lawlor; M O'Brien, D O'Grady; N Moran, O Moran, M Fitzgerald; A O'Shaughnessy, S O'Connor, B Foley.
TIPPERARY (SH v Limerick): B Cummins; E Buckley, P Maher, P Ormonde; E Corcoran, S Maher, D Fitzgerald; S McGrath, C Morrissey; T Scroope, D Egan, L Corbett; E Kelly, D O'Hanlon, P Kelly
DUBLIN (SH v Kilkenny): G Maguire; P Brennan, K Ryan, T Brady; M Carton, R Fallon, S Hiney; J McCaffrey, J Boland; K Dunne, D Qualter, D Curtin; J Kelly, P O'Driscoll, K Flynn
