Tipperary hurler Seamus Callanan is adamant that back to back All Ireland glory will not happen for the county without finding an extra 1 or 2% in the form of small tweaks.
The 28 year old won his second All Ireland winner's medal after defeating Kilkenny in the 2016 final at Croke Park, with the full forward scoring 0-13 in the decider, before going on to be nominated for Hurler of the Year in what was a very positive year both individually and collectively.
This weekend, they face Wexford in the Allianz Hurling League semi finals and ahead of that, the three time All Star and six time Munster Championship winner spoke to Off The Ball.
For now, Callanan and the team are not thinking about the prospect of back to back All Ireland titles, but is well aware that replicating what was an excellent 2016 in 2017 will not be enough.
"I think it's very important that we find extra percentages. If we don't improve on last year, it won't be good enough what we did last year to win the Championship this year. But as I said, that's a long way away from where we are right now," he said.
"You know the preparation you put in last year and you just have to tweak it ever so slightly because everyone really did bust themselves last year. They gave 110% so it's small things, it's finding that 1% here, 1% there. They're the margins and it's so important for us. So if we don't find them and if we're not improving, we're not going to be contending at the end of the year."
Callanan also discussed his experience of suffering concussion during a match against Galway in an All Ireland semi final.
"At the time that it happened I didn't know I had concussion. It was just something that hit me the following week and our doctors managed it very, very well," he said.
"I had to take three months off with no physical activity at all and it stood to me in the end. The main thing is 'if in doubt, sit it out' and you have to take that time and be respectful of that because it's a very serious issue and the consequences are massive.
"But I'm very lucky with the setup that I'm in with the professionals and the doctors we have around the setup."
And he feels it is positive that the issue of concussion is now being spoken about within the GAA.
Seamus Callanan was speaking at the launch of the Kelloggs Cul Camps. Kellogg’s supports Cul Camps to promote and encourage physical activity and believes in the power of breakfast to fuel activity on and off the pitch.
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