Eamon O’Shea spoke yesterday of his side’s poor standing and relative weakness, compared to where he wants them to be . Strange words from a man who has just seen his side beat Kilkenny for the first time in roughly two and a half years.

Following the 2-17 to 1-19 win, at Semple Stadium, O’Shea told Newstalk that there is still much work to be done before he considers his side a “good team”.

“We’re trying to become a good team. We’re not really a good team yet and when we do become a good team it will be interesting.”

For O’Shea the positives from the win came not from who the opposition was, but rather from the manner in which his side went about their business in earning a good win.

“What gives us something more is the team really came out today and tried to perform under pressure,” he said.

There were two red cards shown during the second half of yesterday’s game – one to Kilkenny’s Tommy Walsh and one to Tipp’s Noel McGrath – but Eamon O’Shea agreed with the comments of Brian Cody, who claimed the game had been a clean encounter.

“The game was really competitive and it was really honest and I didn’t see any big issue to be honest with you, in terms of the game,” said O’Shea.

Listen to the full interview via the player below

Tipperary vs Kilkenny
Players grapple for possession
©INPHO/Lorraine O'Sullivan