Transition to Lyons seamless

It came as no great surprise to those close to Clare hurling that Cyril Lyons was the man to succeed Ger Loughnane. As a senior player, Lyons served the county for 16 years between 1980 and 1996, the final two years under the management of Loughnane.

This season he came on board with Loughnane as a senior selector, joining the management panel along with Louis Mulqueen, coach to former All-Ireland club champions St Joseph's Doora-Barefield. And with the news on Tuesday night that Loughnane was stepping down, the county board immediately agreed a motion to appoint Lyons as the new manager.

It's an appointment that the school principal from Ruan has no illusions about, a responsibility that he says has the highest of standards. "The job that Ger did over the last six years was exceptional," he says. "You look at where he started, and how low a base Clare were coming from. The two All-Irelands are obviously the highlight but you're looking as well at a period of six Munster finals in the last seven years that he was involved in. That's completely unprecedented.

"But just because he's gone, it doesn't mean that everything goes with him. The approach can be maintained, and in fact, it won't be a case of changing a whole lot."

It's an approach that Lyons believes is dominated by a pace of play which Clare helped take to a new level, forcing the rest of the country to catch up. "I played under him in 1995 and 1996 and without a doubt it was the best hurling training that I ever did. I would say that he was way ahead of everybody else and he always enjoyed what he did. That's something I'd like to maintain.

"As well as that, he always inspired confidence. Most of all I regarded him as a fantastic coach. The players who worked under him had great ability and a great work-rate, but I really feel his all-round ability as a coach has been overlooked. He was able to distil this incredible drive, motivation and conviction, and that's been well-documented, but his knowledge of the game was equally important."

Loughnane's decision didn't come as a major surprise, says Lyons, and while it was disappointing, he feels that it was a decision into which he had put a lot of thought. "We all hoped he'd do a Sean Boylan, maybe change a few selectors and stay on. But, to be honest, coming home from the Tipperary match, we gauged that he would go. But it's been a massive input, where he put in 110 per cent every day. Nobody can argue with that.

"And he brought this Clare team to the top and he kept them there. He was able to maintain the hunger in the side and they were always great value whenever they played."

The immediate task facing Lyons is to complete the management panel for the coming season, starting with the appointment of further selectors to be chosen in consultation between himself and the county board.

"Louis Mulqueen is definitely staying on," he adds, "but I'd hope to have the rest of the panel in place for the county board meeting next month. And right now, we have an under-21 campaign to start seeking out new players."

And for the first time in a couple of years, Clare can enjoy an extended summer vacation. "The players will get a rest now from the grind of championship hurling, but I expect that most of them will be staying on. They all enjoy the training and it's just a question of coming back next January and building it back up bit by bit. And by next summer I expect we'll all be ready to give it another lash."