While combining his coaching career with playing for the Limerick senior footballers, Kinnerk has had some vital input in Clare hurling's resurgence.

Two years with the Clare minors served the 27-year-old well before he stepped up with Fitzgerald's seniors in 2012. Kinnerk's training methods and analysis - from the game itself to strength and conditioning - have helped to revive the Banner's fortunes with a notable change of game-plan too.

In paying tribute to those in his management team, Fitzgerald revealed after the 5-16 to 3-16 replay win over Cork: "Myself and Paul coach the team, and he is a great guy. When I sat down a year and eight months ago inside in Limerick, I told him, and this is on the record - we never played a short game in Clare.

"Paul straight away said, 'That's it in one. I believe 100%'. Myself and himself a year-and-a-half ago, with the backing of the selectors Louis (Mulqueen) and Mike (Deegan), decided, we're going to take a lot of flak...but let's do it.

"We believed it would suit the boys the way we went about it. I have two unbelievable selectors and I mean they challenge me unbelievably. We fight like cats and dogs!

"We would be not here today only for a lot of different people. There are a lot of people in Clare responsible for producing Tony Kelly and the likes of him."

The switch to the 'simple but effective' short game has not been to everyone's liking in Clare, as Fitzgerald alluded to, and the management team have been criticised for sticking with it, especially when they were not producing results on the pitch.

The Banner men have suffered successive Munster semi-final defeats to Waterford and Cork, lost to Limerick in the All-Ireland qualifiers last year and needed a play-off win over the Rebels in April to save their top flight status in the Allianz League.

But Fitzgerald's youngsters have really come of age in this year's Championship, beating Laois, Wexford, Galway and Limerick before edging out Cork after an epic 140-minute duel between the drawn All-Ireland final and replay.

It is the sort of resilient run that, according to Tony Kelly, some of the Clare players may have felt was beyond them when they faced into extra-time against Wexford back in mid-July.

"I remember when we played Wexford, he (Fitzgerald) told us if we win in extra-time we'd win the All-Ireland, and I'd say a few looked around and said, 'what is he going on about?'," the Clare centre forward told RTÉ following yesterday's game.

"But I suppose the man was right. It's all thanks to him and his backroom team that Clare are here today and long may it continue.

"Everyone is saying Clare is a young team. But with youth there's no fear. That's the way we've been looking at it, we've nothing to lose. But we were focused on this year, we kept the heads down and prevailed in the end."

Fitzgerald was delighted with how his young charges closed out their replay victory, admitting 'they have exceeded my expectations' this year.

Twice Cork managed to get back on level terms in the second half, putting it up to a Clare side that had started like a train and scored three first half goals through man-of-the-match Shane O'Donnell.

The Banner's mettle was certainly tested as Patrick Horgan pointed Cork level at 1-16 to 3-10 and then on the hour mark, Seamus Harnedy netted on the rebound to square things up at 2-16 to 3-13.

But in another spellbinding finish, Clare shot ahead again thanks to a stunning solo goal from Conor McGrath and a fifth major followed from substitute Darach Honan to seal a hard-fought triumph.

With Clare having displaying composure beyond their years during the closing stages, Fitzgerald remarked: "We played probably the best 20 minutes I've ever seen at the start. We were just on fire but naturally you're not going to keep going at that pace.

"The biggest test to the Clare team that I've ever seen was when Cork brought us back, because everything was going against us.

"And it's not down to anything I do or any of the boys in management. It's down to the boys themselves. These young boys have incredible resilience. It comes from themselves. They are good kids, they are honest kids, they will never give up.

"They are fellas that mind themselves unbelievable and I think it showed what the story is. For me personally, I'm just so proud of them.

"The way they handled themselves, because you've to think how many of them are so young. In the heat of battle we lost an eight or nine-point lead, and they hit us with everything they had. But we still came back for more, and we finished it in style."

Fitzgerald erupted in emotion at the final whistle, holding his head in his hands as the tears flowed and photographers' cameras flashed around him.

The enormity of Clare's first senior All-Ireland since 1997 - and only their fourth in all - was only just sinking in at the post-match press conference during which he revealed a key tactical tweak that worked brilliantly for McGrath's 62nd-minute goal.

"It was just one of them games that was ebbing and flowing in patches. You're wondering about bringing in fellas and what will happen and we made one or two changes to try and crowd the middle a little bit more so we could try and stop Cork's dominance.

"We tried to get Conor McGrath out the field a small bit more to see could we get him in behind and it worked for the goal. We got him out, got him onto the ball and our tactic was to run at them from 50 or 60 yards out if we got a chance."

A fifth and final goal followed from Honan, the man O'Donnell replaced just before the throw-in. Incredibly, Clare's regular full-forward managed to feature in the latter stages of the Championship despite a quad injury.

Fitzgerald explained: "Darach has been carrying an injury for three months that no one has known about. He has had a 16-centimetre tear in his quad muscle for three months.

"He's only been roughly training once a week for the last three months. How he has managed to do what's he done is incredible."

Asked how does it feel to win an All-Ireland as a manager, the Sixmilebridge clubman replied: "Winning it as a player is fantastic. But there is so much more pressure on as a manager, because I don't want to let the boys down.

"They work so hard and you have to try and make sure that you get everything right, that you have the right people with you.

"There's been a few tough years from my point of view. A lot of stick and different things and, God, does this feel good.

"Am I going to say anything to anyone who was cutting the back off me or saying stuff? Nah. I don't think I need that. I'm just so happy for the lads. This is down to them, they are a fantastic bunch."