Liam Sheedy’s motivation this week is getting Tipperary to win something, not stopping Kilkenny from winning something again.
Tipp face the Cats in Sunday’s All-Ireland SHC final, with Brian Cody’s men needing the victory to complete a sensational five-in-a-row of titles in the Championship.
The Cats have been peerless in that time, though it was Tipp who came closest to breaking the run when they led them for much of last year’s final and Sheedy says his side’s focus is on going one better this year, not stopping Kilkenny from breaking more records.
"We can’t control what the opposition is going to bring but at the same time we know what they are going to bring and we are fully aware of it,” the Tipp boss was quoted as saying by the Irish Examiner.
"They are an exceptional team, they are being talked about as the greatest team to ever grace a hurling field and they are going for five- in-a-row.
"They would look to bring that performance onto the pitch and, to be fair to them, anytime they have stepped out onto the pitch they have bought that performance with them. You just have to see where that takes you.
"They are chasing immortality. Eighteen times it has been tried and no-one has managed to beat them. You’d also have to say, that 13 or 14 times out of that it has been a little bit one-sided.
"They are an exceptional team and they set very high standards, but, and I keep saying it, we cannot expect Kilkenny to come back to meet the rest of us. The challenge for the rest of us is to get up there and get up with them."
It was morale-sapping when Tipp lost to Kilkenny late on 12 months ago, but Sheedy now hopes that that experience will have helped his players mature and admits being there before is a benefit.
He added: "It’s always a help. We have twice as much experience this year than we had last year.
“These are a very level-headed group of lads and all they want to do is play and play to their potential. And even the fact that they have been through minor and U21 finals helps, because it is very much the same preparations, so thankfully they have got comfortable with that. It is definitely a benefit having been through it."