'We're not going to drop our guard'

One of these days Brian Cody might surprise us and rave about Kilkenny while slating the opposition. Not likely, of course, not from the man who sees winning as a process as much as an end in itself, and in that regard there is never any room for complacency.

"Look, that was an All-Ireland semi-final, a huge game for us," said Cody. "Okay, we've played Wexford twice now, and both games went to us. Everyone was predicting what was going to happen today, and that's understandable, but we always felt it would be close.

"And it was tight out there. . . We got a bit of a cushion of five points going in at half-time. But we mightn't have had that, the way the game was going. I mean, you couldn't say we were entitled to it. But we forged it out, worked hard. Regardless of what goes on, if we drop our guard, for even a fraction of a second, we'll be buried. That's the reality of it. We have to continue to play at a very decent level, and a very decent pace, to maintain that. What makes me happy is that we do that. I mean we might get beaten, but we're not going to drop our guard."

There is no room for complacency among the players either, not when they know there are men on the bench willing and able to take their place.

"The lads realise they're fighting for their places, essentially," added Cody. "Any player wearing any county jersey is honoured to do that. And it's something they take very seriously. There are another 15 players togged out and sitting on the bench, and every one equally as good as the players out there. They respect that someone else is wearing the jersey, and they do that. And I'm constantly learning.

"Every time we go out it's a test of the character of this team. And don't tell me the Wexford players don't have character. Everybody saw what they had last Saturday evening. Wexford are a decent team. They're difficult to play against and difficult to beat. They were very genuine out there today, and kept at it.

"We're going into the All-Ireland final now . . . It's four weeks, and we'll be looking for continuous improvement over that time. I don't think it matters who we're facing from our point of view, because we'll just look after ourselves. Because if we're not ready for it we're not going to win."

For Wexford manager John Meyler the hurling world is still a very optimistic place, and he intends being a part of it for another year in an effort to take the county back to the top table.

"I'm extremely proud of the lads. I thought we hurled well for the 70 minutes. Unfortunately in the first half we didn't take three or four chances we should have. A couple of frees were put wide, and you need to take everything you're given against Kilkenny.

"But our work rate was excellent, and they kept going until the end. It was a big improvement on the Leinster final, but we're still not in the top level. We're still on level two now, I think, after this year. Please God we can go another level next year. But I think maybe some of the Wexford fellas don't realise what it takes to get up to that level, in terms of the physical and mental fitness."

The difference - as usual - was Kilkenny did the simple things right, and Wexford more often did them wrong: "I just thought we lacked that extra bit of penetration in the second half," added Meyler. "It was much easier for them to get their scores, whereas we were troubled to get them. A couple of subs changed it around. I thought Pierce White livened it up, but we just need more stronger, bigger forwards, really.

"But to be honest, I didn't think Kilkenny were going at full speed today. I think they were only ticking over. They didn't really play well today, not to their high standards, and they'll probably feel there's a huge game in them. But I still think we took it to them.

"We just need to learn from this. There'll be no sniping at one another. We'll push on. At least Wexford competed this year. It's been a good year, as I see it. We got to the league semi-final, and an All-Ireland semi-final.

"We'll sit down in a week's time and open up the table, but we just have to build on this year, keep it going. We can't let the thing slip. Kilkenny won't, and these fellas need to realise what's needed and expected of them."