Noel O’Leary has said that the core of Cork’s 2010 All-Ireland winning side was phased out too soon and that he carries “a regret” about how his career ended.
O’Leary announced his retirement at the age of just 31 after the 2013 Championship campaign, Conor Counihan’s last as manager, and a host of other stalwarts like
Graham Canty, Alan O’Connor, Paudie Kissane, Alan Quirke and Pearse O’Neill also departed during that close season.
Brian Cuthbert was appointed as Counihan’s successor, serving two seasons in the role, and O’Leary suggested that players were effectively encouraged to call time on their careers.
He said: “I would say any of the guys at that stage or at that time were willing to stay on that bit longer to be honest with you.
“Look, I suppose the incoming management were going a different direction and you’ve got to respect that as well.
“It was the one thing at the time alright, I’d say a lot of people were surprised at all the retirements and that we slipped away kind of quietly but certainly, it’s something that I feel there was enough fire in our bellies at the time.
“I suppose if you had a fresher approach and I suppose just a fresh way of thinking you could have reignited things again.
“Now, there might have been a couple of more years left in us but yeah, it’s a fair point, looking back on it, there’s no doubt there would have been another few years in us, yeah.”
As it is, Cork haven’t won a Munster title since 2012 and current boss John Cleary is their fifth different manager since Counihan oversaw the county’s last successful era.
"Any person that has an interest in Cork football would be hoping that we can get those days back again because obviously there has been a bit of a divide obviously over the last six or seven years.
“John is doing a great job. Personally, I would have felt that he should have been there a lot sooner but sure that's water under the bridge.
“Look, the guy is doing a great job. But, at the same time, you've to crawl before you can walk and he has a job to build a foundation there and to really make them into a team that can challenge in the next couple of years.
“While he is doing a great job, we shouldn't get carried away with the thing either. Unless things go very right for them, I can't see them competing with the top four or five this year. I hope I'm proven wrong but certainly next year, yeah, I would be expecting it.”
The 40-year-old was speaking ahead of the airing of his profile on Laochra Gael on TG4 on Thursday night (9.30pm) and while the documentary is very moving in parts, it was notable that it didn’t reference the bitter players’ strike that preceded Counihan’s arrival as Cork manager in 2008.
“If we could go back over that ground again you certainly would feel that possibly things could have been done differently and I didn’t think it was a very important part of my career to include it in the documentary to be honest.
“While, look, it was a stepping stone for a lot of things that happened going forward I just… just with everything, with my private life and my career then as well, I just didn’t feel it warranted a mention.”
O’Leary’s career was notable for his feisty duels with Kerry’s Paul Galvin and he acknowledged that the pair have been in touch since their playing days ended.
“We have. I suppose not a lot, but we have. There's a mutual respect there, to be fair.
“You have to give credit where credit is due. He was a huge driving force for Kerry over all those years. What happens on the pitch stays on the pitch and we always kept it that way, to be fair.
“When I look back on our meetings on the field, the one thing I would say about the guy, and he would probably say it about me as well, was that we never had a bad word to say to each other out on the field, whether you believe that or not.
“It was more of a physical confrontation and trying to get the better of each other, I suppose. That says a lot about him too, to be fair.”
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