Fresh off Cork's dramatic victory over Tipperary at Páirc Uí Rinn on Saturday, captain Paul Kerrigan joined Red FM's Big Red Bench to discuss a tumultuous couple of weeks for his side.
On the face of it, it seems the Cork footballers have been under fire since 2011, but recent struggles and dire performances have seen that criticism intensify tenfold.
Kerrigan first explained how the scrutiny from within his own county is both warranted and needed, but was quick to put Cork's struggles into context on a day which saw last year's All-Ireland finalists exit their provincial championship at the second hurdle.
The results are there, like. Cork's very much a winning county. I suppose on the other hand, Cork have only won seven All-Ireland football titles which isn't a whole pile compared to other counties yet.
We get unbelievable criticism, but you wouldn't want to have it any other way here. Cork people expect you to win. And look, I know our performances will be criticised, but for our team at the moment, we're after getting two wins on the bounce and we're in a Munster final. You see the likes of Mayo are out now today, into the qualifiers. Kilkenny are out in the hurling, into the qualifiers. We're just trying to get the wins.
It is [hard to ignore] around Cork. I mean, up to a couple a weeks ago the hurlers hadn't won either, and it was there around both teams. A lot of people would text you and just say, 'Keep the head up and keep going'.
It was then put to Kerrigan that much of this season's criticism seems to be emanating from Cork's neighbours to the west, or more pertinently, journalists and pundits from The Kingdom who work on a national platform.
With a chuckle, Kerrigan brushed jibes from Kerry under the carpet:
Yeah, they kind of have a monopoly on the sportswriting and on telly, like! It suits them to have a cut off us all the time.
They're the form team in the country at the moment. They've dethroned Dublin. We need no motivation playing at home in the Páirc.
People can criticise all they want. I think it motivates people in different ways. My motivation is to get a good performance out of this team. For other fellas it might be to prove people wrong. But look, it's up to them if they want to criticise us.
The Nemo man revealed the Cork footballers are yet to receive a tour of the new Páirc Uí Chaoimh so as not to 'jinx it', and also issued an impassioned plea for the return of Barry O'Driscoll's jersey which, GPS unit and all, was swiped during the aftermath of Saturday's victory.
Could the young lad who ran 🏃🏻🏃🏻away with the bloodied 17 Cork jersey keep the jersey but return the GPS unit inside please 😂Good win too🔴⚪️
— Eoin Cadogan (@cads3) June 10, 2017
A few of the lads said it last night. He's right, like! Those things cost a lot of money, so whichever youngfella has it, you can have the jersey, you can have a little bit more gear, but make sure you send the unit back!
Our lads in charge of the GPS will be looking for the number 17, like. It's an important piece of kit. I suppose Barry O'Driscoll's numbers will have gone up now if the youngfella has ran away with it.
So, if anyone has it out there, look, I'll give you a jersey as well if you want to bring it back.
You can listen to the full interview with Kerrigan on Red FM's .
