Michael Ryan ends ban and confirms he'll speak to the media going forward

The Tipperary boss has explained the pre-planned media blackout and shared his regret.

AFTER REFUSING TO speak to the media in the wake of his side’s Munster SHC defeat to Limerick on Sunday, Tipperary manager Michael Ryan has broken his silence.

Following the 1-23 to 2-14 loss, it was said that Ryan wouldn’t engage in press duties until after the Munster round robin campaign concluded.

But this morning he appeared on TippFM, confirming that he would speak to the media for the remainder of the championship and explaining his reasoning and subsequent decision to change the ban.

“The reason why I didn’t speak to the media on Sunday immediately after the match was a decision we had taken prior to the campaign,” he told the local radio station.

“We took that decision in the light of we were facing four Sundays in-a-row and I suppose what we don’t do is factor in that we’re going to lose a match.

“We’re always very positive about our games. But in the aftermath of the match and after a loss, we should have reviewed that.”

He added, of why the media were unaware of the blackout:

“We make a lot of decisions. We communicate what we think we should and need to communicate but that was one of our internal decisions. We said we’re playing week after week after week. Our focus is on our team and on ourselves.

Michael Ryan Tommy Dickson / INPHO Tommy Dickson / INPHO / INPHO

“However I do acknowledge when you lose there is a void created, a much greater void than when you win and hence I’m on this morning to talk about it.

“Number one, our decision should have been reviewed and number two, of course we needed to acknowledge Limerick.”

There was no shortage of criticism for the 2016 All-Ireland champions following their Gaelic Grounds opener on Sunday and one thing that was to the fore was Ryan’s team selection.

The Upperchurch-Drombane clubman opted to hand out five championship debuts while he kept Seamus Callanan, Brendan Maher and ‘Bonner’ Maher on the bench.

He defended his decision to dish out those opportunities based on form in training and in response to players being held in reserve, he said:

“What we’re trying to do is measure and come up with the best formula that we possibly can for every single game. It was hugely important.

“Well it didn’t work, we didn’t get the result we were looking for and we need to turn it around and we need to think about Cork on Sunday and that is the only thing that matters to us in the next five days.”

Ryan accepted that criticism was part of the job, and then went on to credit Limerick.

“There’s only one game played yet in championship and criticism is part and parcel of what we do. We go out there and put ourselves on the line each and every day that we play.

Seamus Callanan Tommy Grealy / INPHO Tommy Grealy / INPHO / INPHO

“We aim to do our very best all of the time. It doesn’t work out well all of the time. That’s simply a fact of life and a fact of sport.”

In terms of the injury situation, Ryan had a positive update on both Callanan and Brendan Maher, saying that he’s pleased with their progress and neither had ‘ill effects’ after their respective cameo appearances on Sunday.

He added that Bonner Maher is also available for selection and his introduction from the bench at the weekend was another positive factor.

“Limited time frames,” he noted.

“We would have loved if that had been longer for us but there’s no substitute to being on the pitch. It is absolutely critical to getting them onto the pitch for any of them and that experience will stand to every single body that went onto the pitch last Sunday.”

To conclude, Ryan clarified that he will continue to speak to the media and will conduct post-match interviews after their meeting with Cork on Sunday.

“I will be speaking to the media if they want to speak to me after the game, no problem.

“We just want to concentrate on our hurling and anything that’s a distraction to our hurling is not welcome and it’s not what we’re about.”