Ballygunner boss Darragh O'Sullivan says that they will face their biggest test of the season in Sunday's Munster semi final against Na Piarsaigh at the Gaelic Grounds.
"Definitely. If you look at the quality of the opposition we're coming up against and the names on their team. We'll give them the respect they deserve. We don't treat any team any differently to anybody else. We'll monitor them, we'll analyse them and then we'll concentrate on ourselves. 90 per cent of this week will be about ourselves not them."
O'Sullivan is relishing the challenge. "The buzz of getting on the bus on Sunday morning and the nervous energy that brings is something really special. We're in a privileged situation to be coming up against one of the top teams in the country in their own backyard. It doesn't come any bigger than that."
He was impressed by Na Piarsaigh in their county final win over Kilmallock. "They worked really, really hard. You see the intensity they brought and Kilmallock weren't able to meet that. That's what we're going to have to do first and foremost on Sunday is make sure that we meet the intensity that they bring to it. They are a well experienced team, they've been around the block and it's going to be a huge challenge but it's something we're looking forward to."
Teenager Patrick Fitzgerald was named man of the match against Kilruane McDonaghs two weeks ago. O'Sullivan is pleased with his progress. "We look at Patrick as a long-term project. He is still under 18 which is the old minor. You've got to be careful with a young lad that you don't push him in too fast. We took a slow approach with him. He played really well with the intermediate team. As the year went on, he earned the right to start."
With the game to be settled on the day, the Gunners have been practicing penalties in training. "We do a certain amount of it all through the year to be honest about it. We'd have our penalty takers at this stage."
Listen back to the full interview with Darragh O'Sullivan from Friday's Lár Na Páirce.
