Departing Neville stresses importance of reappointing Limerick football manager Billy Lee

LIMERICK football star Danny Neville has stressed the importance of reappointing Billy Lee as Limerick football manager.

While Neville hopes Lee is involved he confirmed that he wont be involved next season as he moves abroad for work in the coming weeks.

Billy Lee's tenure officially ended with defeat to Cork in the Munster SFC on Saturday but Neville is certain that the Newcastle West is the right man to continue to lead Limerick football into a sixth season and beyond.

“I’m sure Billy will want another couple of years at it and I’m sure all the players want the same to give a bit of consistency because that is what we have managed to bring into our game and to Limerick football in the last couple of years – consistency,” outlined Neville.

“We are now able to put performances and wins back-to-back. Someone said it was just the second time across the last 30 years that Limerick won a round in Munster SFC three years in a row which is crazy when you think they were in Munster finals and all, but that’s consistency,” said the forward.

Neville is certain Limerick football is now “in a better place”.

“It’s an unbelievable place now and that’s down to this group. We play sport because of the camaraderie and the team effort that goes in. When it’s enjoyable more people will want to do it and you get better players in. We have the best players playing with Limerick football at the moment whereas for the past 10 years since they were in Munster finals last, we probably haven’t had.”

Neville joined the Limerick senior panel for the first time in 2013. He made his senior championship debut as an U21 in 2014 and has seen good and bad days across the last nine years.

"It’s a tough one to take," he said of Saturday's loss to Cork.

"We were trying to get to the pitch of the game early but that goal didn’t help us. It was the same in the Derry game where we felt they weren’t any better a team than us but we found it hard to get to the pace so soon because we haven't’ played at that level before and it was a sucker punch to lose our goalie. We got to the pace but they were getting their scores that bit handier and we needed a goal to win. I don’t think the scoreline did us justice for a finish but that’s the way it goes," surmised Neville.

"We could have been closer at half time - we probably weren’t firing up front in that first half. We had a couple of silly wides and one or two dropped short and they seemed to nail everything. The boys in the full back line were absolutely outstanding from start to finish - they are some of the best defenders in Munster without a doubt. They held Connolly and Hurley to very few scores from play," he said.

"They seemed to have that goal ahead of us at all times and probably a point with it - we probably needed a goal or to string a couple of points together because every time we got a point we weren’t able to set up quickly enough for the kickout and they were moving back up the field and like the Offaly game earlier in the year they were always just a couple of score ahead of us."

What of Limerick football?

"Progress continues," he stressed.

"It couldn’t have gone any lower a couple of years ago lets be honest. It was at a very low ebb but Billy rallied the troops and it’s been an upward curve ever since. 2019 was the real start of it with that win against Tipperary - we weren’t able to keep it going and Cork gave the boys a rude awakening afterwards. But then in 2020 we were promoted in the league and in 2021 within a couple of kicks of been promoted to Division Two. That’s the standard that the boys hold themselves to - it’s not about making it up as we go along, that’s the standard we hold ourselves to and we have to hit them every day."

What of Danny Neville?

"It’s bittersweet - we will be jettying off in a couple of weeks. Hopefully I've helped to leave Limerick football in a better place than when I started. And hopefully come back into a better place whenever that opportunity arises."