Mark Dowling and Niall Bergin discuss the highs and lows of Kilkenny management - Extended Interview
Hear the full interview on the Kilkenny People Sport Podcast, which is available now!
Kilkenny U20 manager, Mark Dowling and Minor boss, Niall Bergin sit down with Liam Kelly O'Rourke in studio for an extended interview to look back on the highs and lows of 2024.
In the latter part of last year, the pair were ratified as Kilkenny U20 and Minor managers respectively with both keen to build on last year's campaigns.
Kilkenny's U20 Leinster Championship hopes came to an end at the semi-final stage when going down to eventual All-Ireland champions Offaly in Tullamore.
Mark Dowling's outfit were behind for a lot of an end to end tussle that had it all and it was a 2-3 tally from Shane Rigney that gave the Faithful County the edge come the final whistle.
Meanwhile, it was a sobering home All-Ireland Final for Kilkenny hurling supporters after Tipperary came away with All-Ireland Minor glory despite playing the majority of the game with only 13 players.
Cillian Minogue and Darragh O'Hora were both given straight red cards in the opening half by Dublin official Thomas Gleeson which irked the sizeable Tipperary contingent among the 12,721 in attendance and that sense of unjust only seemed to inspire The Premier County to an historic victory.
Ahead of a new season, with both Dowling and Bergin returning to their respective roles, the duo discuss a range of topics including; he current pressures faced by young players and management, whether supporters put too much emphasis on results at underage levels and do coaches weigh too heavily on stats?.