Declan Hannon: We need that extra few percent. We know it's there

For while they made solid progress over the last two seasons, winning the Munster title in 2013 and running Kilkenny to two points in this year's All-Ireland semi-final, they realise that more has to be found if the 42-year wait for an All-Ireland title is to end.

"We're doing a lot right but we need that extra few per cent to get over the line. The challenge is to find it and make it count. We know it's there," says Declan Hannon.

Limerick have beaten Tipperary (twice), Cork and Wexford in the championship in the last two seasons, raising hopes that their upward graph is underpinned by a solidity which will eventually yield the biggest prize of all.

Indeed, when they scored five unanswered points in the third quarter of the All-Ireland semi-final against Kilkenny last August to lead by two, it looked as they were poised for a memorable win.

As the rain deluged down on Croke Park, Limerick were hurling with a structure and ferocity that Kilkenny, long recognised as the embodiment of both qualities, found difficult to cope with.

Confidence

There was a confidence about Limerick that suggested they weren't going to take 'no' for an answer this time.

Then, the needless concession of a long-range free presented Kilkenny with an opportunity for an attack, which produced a priceless goal off a combination of swirling ash by Richie Power and Eoin Larkin. Even then, the Limerick players were convinced they would win.

"Even after Kilkenny got the goal, I said to Donal O'Grady: ' I can't see us losing.' That was the level of confidence we had. We just needed to get a few more per cent out of ourselves - if we had, it would probably have seen us through," says Hannon, who was one of Limerick's best performers that day, hitting 0-5 from open play.

Crucially, Limerick scored only one point in the last 15 minutes, a miserable return after having yielded 0-5 in 11 minutes prior to that. It was a power failure which was always going to be punished by Kilkenny, who major in digging out wins in the tightest of circumstances.

It was all very frustrating for Limerick but once the initial disappointment had subsided, the positives from the season were clearly visible. They had beaten one of the All-Ireland finalists and come very close to matching the winners, and while they did not perform well against Cork for long stretches in the Munster final, the faults were subsequently rectified.

"We didn't win anything but good progress was made. We got back up on the horse after losing to Cork in the Munster final, played very well for most of the way against Wexford and while we came up short against Kilkenny, we could take a lot out of it," says Hannon.

"Kilkenny's experience is hugely important in those type of tight games. It was tough to take but we'll come on from it. We have to if we hope to win an All-Ireland."

Limerick's brave bid to out-gun Kilkenny was in stark contrast to the previous year's anaemic display against Clare in the All-Ireland semi-final. Hannon feels it's part of the maturing process as they learn from mistakes.

Few would have predicted last April that Limerick would beat Tipp for a second successive year and stretch Kilkenny so close to breaking point.

Back in spring, Limerick were making headlines through another managerial upheaval as Donal O'Grady resigned during a fractious period after a poor performance against Galway in the Allianz League quarter-final.

O'Grady was in his first year and, inevitably, there were grim predictions as to what impact his sudden departure would have.

"You don't expect a manager to leave at that stage of the season but it happened and we just got on with it. It didn't impact on the players. We trained hard when Donal was there and even harder when he left," says Hannon.

"We have good players who will work under anybody and try to do the best they can for Limerick. That's the way we operate. We were being written off at the time but we didn't mind that. It happens all the time so we took no notice of it."

TJ Ryan took full control and, by the end of the championship, Limerick were being talked of as genuine contenders for next year's All-Ireland title. There's heavy work to be done and refinements to be made but the fundamentals certainly appear solid.

"We need to be more clinical when we're going well. We missed a lot of chances against Cork in the Munster final - I could have had four or five points in the first half but I didn't - and while we beat Wexford well in the end, we missed two or three goal chances in the first 20 minutes," says Hannon.

"Even against Kilkenny we didn't take enough chances. That's something we have to work on."

Issue

Once again, Limerick will start the year in Division 1B, having lost out to Cork for the promotion slot last spring. Playing against the better teams in 1A would be preferable, although recent history (for Limerick and Cork) suggest that it's not a major issue later in the year.

"Playing in 1B seems to have pros and cons for us. We have tended to struggle a bit in the league but come on well in the championship. The odd thing is that we seem to do better against the likes of Tipperary, Cork and Kilkenny than against some other teams," says Hannon.

"Naturally, we'd like to be playing a higher standard of games all the time but having said that, 1B has been very hard to get out of."

He points to Galway as an example of a team whose season might have been so very different. "They drew with Kilkenny and had a good lead against Tipperary, the two teams that went on to contest the All-Ireland final. The margins are very small at the top level, as we also found this year," he reflects.

"To get to the top you have to improve each year. That's our target for 2015. After that, we'll see where it takes us. We're really looking forward to the challenge."

l LIMERICK begin their 1B League campaign at home to Waterford on February 24, while their opening championship clash will be against Clare in Thurles on May 24, with the winners playing Tipperary in the Munster semi-final.