Pat Ryan finally breaks silence on Cork All-Ireland half-time bust-up rumours

Cork collapsed in the second half of the All-Ireland final against Tipperary

Rumours swirled in the weeks after Cork’s disastrous defeat by Tipperary in July that Ryan’s players had fought each other in the dressing room, despite his side leading by six points.

Tipperary burst out of the blocks in the second half as Cork struggled to muster anything together, with Tipp strolling to a 15-point victory.

But speaking to the Irish Examiner in his first interview following his departure from Cork, Ryan says the rumours were disgusting.

"To be honest, sometimes fellas think when you’re the manager that you hear everything that’s going on.

"I didn’t hear it until I went back into work on the Thursday or the Friday. And I was like: ‘What are you on about?’ And then fellas were showing me text messages.

"And my attitude was, maybe we should have a fight. And that was my take. Absolutely, totally false. Absolutely no truth in it.

"And, look, the disgusting point from my part is that they were totally made-up stories, and then individual names were attached to it.

"Absolutely, under no circumstances did anything like that ever happen in my time with three years involved with Cork.

"I’ve had absolutely no run-in or argument with any players. I’ve had plenty of good discussions with our leadership group. Plenty of honest chats. Same thing with our management group. You know what I mean?

"All those things were absolutely total garbage. And, to be honest, probably the most disappointing thing is that you had people that should know better who were actually thinking that it might be true.

"Not alone that, who goes in and has a big bust-up with a six-point lead?"

Ryan’s goodbye statement at Cork

During his three years at Cork, Ryan led Cork to two-All-Ireland appearances, an Allianz HL title and a Munster SHC.

In a statement announcing his departure on Saturday, Ryan said: “The last 3 years has been a pleasure to be part of a wonderful journey with the Cork Senior Hurling Team.

“I was humbled on Friday to be asked by Cork GAA to lead the group again for a new term but after consultation with my family I feel now it is best for me to seek a different challenge after 5 years of managing Cork teams.

“In this 5 years the support I have received from a wonderful loyal & trust worthy management and backroom team has made my job very easy.”

O’Connor favourite to replace Ryan

O’Connor won three All-Ireland titles with Cork, captaining them to in the 2004 final.

He led Charleville to the Cork Intermediate title in 2018, and looks to be the early frontrunner.