WATCH: Eoin Murphy and Brian Cody ‘looking forward to’ Limerick clash

For arguably the first time since his appointment, Brian Cody’s Kilkenny will come into an All-Ireland semi-final as the underdogs.

After upsetting the odds against Cork the last time out, Kilkenny will look to repeat the trick against last year’s All-Ireland champions in Croke Park this Saturday.

For goalkeeper Eoin Murphy, coming in as underdogs isn’t something that will faze or his teammates as they take little heed to any hype ahead of the game.

“We don’t look into that but with Social Media you have to be fierce careful because you might have one fella slating you and another patting you on the back so that’s not doing you any good mentally.”

“We’re just laser-focused on what we want to do and how we are going to apply ourselves on the game.”

However, Murphy, who was heroic in Kilkenny’s loss to Limerick in the quarter-final stage last year, is keenly aware of the threat that Limerick pose and is taking nothing for granted with the game looming.

“They’re not League, Munster and All-Ireland champions for no reason at all. In their two biggest tests this year, the league final against Waterford and against Tipperary in the Munster final, they showed how good they are.”

Brian Cody is no stranger to this stage as he looks to guide his side to an unprecedented 16th All-Ireland final since his appointment as manager in 1999.

The prospect of being written-off in some quarters goes unnoticed to Cody who is expecting a tough battle from John Kiely’s troops.

Yet, as the underdogs, Cody is relishing the challenge of mixing it with the best.

“It doesn’t matter to me in the slightest and to the players as well I’m sure. Obviously, you’d hear that we aren’t fancied to win the game, but we shouldn’t be fancied to beat the All-Ireland champions.”

“They’re a terrific team… But we’re there now, a big challenge and we’re looking forward to it.”

Listen to the interview in full with Eoin Murphy and Brian Cody below with audio courtesy of KCLR.

All our semi-final coverage is brought to you in association with Foot Solutions Limerick!