Stick or twist is the question facing Offaly hurling manager Kevin Martin ahead of his side's clash with Dublin this weekend in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship.
Having conceded 5-24 to Wexford last weekend, as well as 5-18 to Galway at the beginning of the month, there have been calls for Martin to change systems and set up more defensively, a thought that Offaly legend Daithi Regan dismisses.
Joining OTB tonight to talk all things hurling, Regan was asked if Martin should shore his side up at the back in an attempt to stop hemorrhaging scores, but Regan said that setting up defensively won't help their cause at all and could potentially make their performance even worse.
"No, absolutely not, don't turn up if that's the case because you're sending a message out to Dublin, 'come at us with everything you've got because we're just going to try to shore up'. Not the way forward whatsoever, you can't change anything"
"If you set up to go out defensively and play a sweeper what message are you sending to the players for starters? One thing about Kevin is that he will be consistent. If you're not good enough to win your own ball and beat your own man, well don't be expecting someone else behind you to pick up handy loose ball".
Regan doubled down on the idea of persevering with the system they've employed so far as it's the one they've been playing and training with, and that it's more likely to deliver a performance than a new style of play that the squad aren't familiar with and won't have time to practice.
"If you turn around a play a sweeper, they've not trained or played like that all year. You've then got a situation where you've a guy who conceivably will get on a lot ball who has absolutely no practice all year of where he's hitting it, what direction he's hitting it, what the game plan is, and the rest of the forwards haven't been playing to that tune".
"So no. Change nothing, man up, go out, leave it out there but no, don't go defensive".
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