JOHN O'KEEFFE'S softly-softly approach is a vital factor in Clare footballers' renewed confidence and form. Martin Daly, one of last Sunday's many heroes in the draw against Cork, was voicing the general feeling among his teammates when he said: "Unlike other managers, who by nature tend to be dominating, John is a gentle gentleman who still gets his point of view across."

"After last Sunday we have acquired a greater belief in ourselves. Now that we know we can do it, we are in with a great chance," said Daly.

Indeed, the consensus among the Clare players is that it was a disappointing result for them. "We were the better team, especially in the last 10 minutes. We had the legs and they (Cork) were gone, said Daly.

The 23-year-old does not exonerate himself when acknowledging the attacking shortcomings of the Clare forwards. He insists, though, that there were two, not one, wrong umpire decisions given that denied Clare of vital points.

The third-quarter point he thought he had scored, which was ruled out by the referee after consultation with umpires who disagreed, remains etched in his memory.

He said: "There was no doubt in my mind that the ball went over the bar. Our midfielder Michael Hynes, who was standing close to me, argued strongly. He was full sure as well. There was a tail on the flight of the ball. I think what happened the umpire was that he looked down too soon without following the flight of the ball through. In the end I thought we had enough done to win the match."

"Everybody was saying that Clare were lucky for Cork to play bad but Clare played bad compared to what we can play. Defensive wise we were excellent but the finishing was poor. That won't happen again," said Daly.

Daly and his team-mates rue the loss of Kieran O'Mahony who is ruled out again for Sunday's match because of a back injury sustained in a challenge match against Mayo. John O'Keeffe says it will be difficult to leave out any of the players who were on duty last Sunday.

The Clare County Board met briefly in Ennis last night and agreed to Pairc Ui Chaoimh as the venue for next Sunday's replay.

The concept of a home and away cycle, which Cork feel is ongoing, will be addressed by the Clare board on another occasion. Clare County, Board secretary Pat Fitzgerald said hat for the moment "we have a "match to play and we will be going to Cork to play it."

Daly and his team-mates do not particularly relish going to Pairc Ui Chaoimh next Sunday. "It is bad enough trying to beat them away from home without taking them on in Cork."

Daly was in the Clare team for only six weeks when he won a Munster senior championship medal with the historic side of 1992. "I came on as a sub that day and scored a goal. It was something else."

"Supporters were complaining that our backs are so small, but nowadays you don't really need so much strength, it's mostly speed.

"Running up and down hills in Shannon can be tough going in training but all members of the squad are more than willing to cooperate. The spirit is so good that we are really a club side by now. Exams and injuries meant that we were missing players early on but we have been working really hard together for the past two months."

A replay forecast? There will not be much in it again next Sunday - most likely only a kick of a ball between us," said Daly.