Darragh Ó Sé's barbed assertion that Cork had become 'immune to shame' following defeat to Tipperary left a lot of fans reeling on Leeside. Sure, it didn't help that it arrived from the fingertips of an old adversary - and a Kerryman, no less - but to many, there seemed to be an element of truth to it.
A spirited if unimpressive defeat of Longford would follow that humiliating Tipp loss, and Cork defender Eoin Cadogan believes a season that also saw the Rebel County relegated from Division 1 is primed to turn around against Donegal on Saturday. He also claimed Cork shouldn't have to feel the need to prove themselves to anyone, describing his side as 'resilient' while brushing off Ó Sé's remarks from June.
All these guys that are writing articles are looking for hits. Ye know that as well as we do. Sensational headlines grab attention and that's what people are looking for.
It's not just Darragh. There's loads of former players with different opinions but our job is to go out and perform.
Criticism is nothing new to Cork footballers, of course. Their bottle is seemingly under perpetual scrutiny - this despite All-Ireland success just six years ago in what many admittedly considered a bit of a 'freak year'.
There tends to be a lot of negativity attached to Cork football. But if you go back to 2008, '09, '10, '11 and '12 when Cork were doing well reaching the semi-finals, getting to All-Ireland finals, there was still a huge amount of negativity attached to the squad,
says Cadogan.
It was never good enough. We won three National League titles, beaten All-Ireland finalists in '07 and '09, win it in '10. Criticism seems to be par for the course with Cork football.
The Douglas man believes the recruitment of Aidan Walsh and his own younger brother, Alan, following Cork's dismal hurling championship exit to Wexford, can be of benefit to the squad, and claims the dynamic of the squad is now changing as confidence builds ahead of a return to Croke Park.
The 29-year-old Cadogan admits that Cork are yet to fully emerge from their shells this season, and hopes the Rebels can 'prove their worth' on Saturday.
The motivation for victory over Donegal, he says, is simple:
In terms of the people that support us the whole way along - family, friends, the people that are there to pick the phone up after the s**t hits the fan on the Monday morning after you've been beaten in championship or when things aren't going well - they're the people you want to repay.
I think they take a small bit of pride in that. It's about giving back as much as possible by performing out there. Not talking about it, talking is over now. It's time to perform.
Throw-in at Croke Park is at 2pm, and you can read Cadogan's full interview on independent.ie.
