Rebels ace Kingston shuts down the noise

SHANE KINGSTON says the increasing pressure being placed on Cork as All-Ireland favourites is 'irrelevant' to the group and simply 'outside noise'.

- BY PAUL KEANE

Pat Ryan's crew have already ended a 27-year wait for National League success and then marched on to claim a first Munster title since 2018.

And with Saturday's All-Ireland semi-final opponents Dublin taking Limerick out of the MacCarthy Cup race, Cork's odds on lifting Liam have plummeted.

If anyone wasn't already aware of that, Tipperary manager Liam Cahill made it crystal clear last week when he described the Rebels as 'raging hot favourites'.

It's a lot to shoulder, particularly when Cork haven't won an All-Ireland in two decades.

A packed out Croke Park - the eighth time in a row that a Championship game involving Cork has sold out - is anticipated this weekend too, potentially placing even more pressure on Kingston and his colleagues.

But eir hurling ambassador Kingston said: “We kind of know ourselves about the outside noise and we always emphasise it that we just keep the outside out. It's no different to last year, there was a lot of outside noise then as well.

“We just keep a tight-knit group and keep everything in the circle. Everything in that circle matters and everything outside it is just irrelevant to us. We're just staying focused on what we need to do.”