GAA
Limerick were put to the sword by Kerry in the provincial final on Saturday.
“We won’t sugarcoat it, we have big chins and we will take it on the chin,” were the words of Limerick manager Billy Lee as they suffered at the hands of Kerry in Saturday’s Munster football final.
The Shannonsiders were second best throughout as they fell to a 1-28 to 0-8 defeat against the All-Ireland favourites in Killarney.
A first Munster final in twelve years highlighted the difference in class between the sides and Lee didn’t shy away from the manner of the defeat in the wake of the contest,
“We won’t sugarcoat it, we have big chins and we will take it on the chin. We are not in the business of hiding from what happened out there and there is no point. We have a lot to learn when we come up against teams like Kerry.
“That proper end Division 1, we know that and we know we have work to do to face into Division 2. With all due respect we don’t need anyone to tell us that, but I am backing these guys to the hilt.”
But Lee is confident in his sides ability to bounce back as they have two weeks to prepare for the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Limerick’s opponents will not be known until next Monday but they will face one of Clare/Meath, Louth/Cork, Mayo/Monaghan or Armagh/Tyrone.
The majority of the group have been on this journey with the Newcastle West native and have shown tremendous growth since his appointment and will look to respond in their first qualifier game since 2019 after successive knockout championships.
“In 2018, when we weren’t even competitive in Division 4, these guys spent the summer working hard behind the scenes to be competitive in that division. They did the same in 2019 so I’ve great faith in these boys.
“We’ve to take this on the chin if we want to find improvement going forward. It’s our job as a management team to set out and try find that improvement. How much improvement is there, we don’t know but we won’t shy away from going to work.”
Watch the interview in full with Lee below.