Jack O'Connor's Column:Experience and ruthlessness are two hallmarks of Kilkenny and their current manager

I was up in Dicksboro in Kilkenny last week doing the Des Cahill programme and the locals were a little worried about the lack of hype leading up to the All-Ireland final. No such worries in Limerick. The problem is hype doesn't win you matches. That's the lesson a lot of Limerick players will have learned on Sunday.

It's hardly a coincidence that their two best players on Sunday, Ollie Moran and Mark Foley, had previous experience of the big day in 1996, Mark as a player, Ollie as a panellist. For a lot of the other Limerick players Sunday was an event as much as a game. All-Ireland final days are tough for players and for managers. A big part of the manager's job isn't just getting it right but appearing to be getting it right.

As a manager you need to keep the mask on till the final whistle. Calm but not casual. Focused but not edgy. In control. You pass silent massages to the players by the way you speak and act. It has to be an occasion that you have to enjoy as a team. So as a manager you have to give the impression you are enjoying it.

It is a fantastic opportunity. Playing in a stadium in front of a fantastic crowd. This is something to be looked forward to. You tell them these things and try to look as if you believe them too. I remember my first All-Ireland as a senior manager in 2004. It was all new. All the time wondering, am I doing the right thing here? Am I sending out the right vibes? Brian Cody is long past those worries.

The day is about players. For instance, a manager has to remember that his speech isn't the be-all and end-all. You keep it very simple. Routine. It's too late for new ideas. The players are out on the pitch for such a long time before throw-in. They forget anything you said. What is important is they get together for a couple of minutes before the throw-in for a last few comforting words between themselves. The few words players say themselves are the most important.

On big days players love routine. It eases their nerves. I like to see a player a small bit edgy. Not too relaxed or pretending that it's just another day. Edgy but not overcome. That's a sign that the adrenaline is pumping. Once they get out on the pitch and get a feel of the ball they are ready to go.

Limerick were in a tough position when it came to separating the game from the occasion. Brian Cody was always going to exploit that. You learn from each experience and you try to bring that on the next year.

On big days in Croke Park I found I used to sit beside Johnny Culloty as much as I could. Johnny was like a human Prozac, very calming. Other than that, you stick to routine. No sideshows. Little things. Don't go out at half-time in the minor game and talk to anybody in the crowd. Go out for 10 minutes, stick to the people you are familiar with. Get back to the sanctuary of the dressingroom. The strength comes from the players and the mentors.

Brian Cody leads by example. No prima-donna stuff, just driven and focused. He is so grounded it would be hard for any of his players to even consider getting above themselves.

He planned Sunday perfectly. They say never give a sucker an even break and never give an underdog a good start. Kilkenny made sure Limerick never got a chance to let their self-belief snowball into something dangerous. Kilkenny matched Limerick's hunger and beat them for skill. They just went for Limerick's jugular.

Watching that start that Limerick endured reminded me of a phrase Bernard Dunne used recently. Caught cold. They didn't hit the ground running. Limerick's management will have learned a lot.

Kilkenny's start was the result of hard experience and ruthless planning. For Kilkenny, this was just another game in the sense that they could divorce the game from the occasion in a way that Limerick couldn't. The good start was crucial.

For us in Kerry, Pat Flanagan liked to try new things and he sought a lot of advice on warm-ups from people, like Liam Hennessy from the IRFU. Warming up was basically trial and error for a while for us. We tried different routines and we'd keep adjusting and evaluating based on how well we started the game. In the second half of last season we started using a conditioned game between the players as part of the warm-up. It worked. A simple way of getting to match pace is to play a small match.

After the first ten minutes Kilkenny could play within themselves. Limerick will say they matched Kilkenny from there on. That is missing the point. The credit they can take is that they didn't capitulate.

Aside from experience Brian Cody's calm ruthlessness was the difference. It wasn't by accident that Seamus Hickey was put under so much pressure in the first ten minutes. If you see a rookie corner back out there in Croke Park you want to ask some serious questions of him early on and get an experienced player to ask those questions. That is what attention to detail is all about.

Hickey recovered quite well but it was a huge task to be on a speed merchant like Eddie Brennan, a guy looking to make a point on the All-Ireland final stage.

Cody keeps such ferocious competition for places going that even the few elite players on the side do the donkey work. When Henry Shefflin was on the pitch on Sunday he put himself about in a way that few players would have the appetite for.

It said a lot about Shefflin. No job is too small for the big fellas and no job is too big for the small fellas. That's the secret of a team.

Cody doesn't do the high-fives stuff. You watch a Kilkenny player coming off having been substituted and Cody doesn't rush over with a big hug to soften the blow. On Sunday it was only when the last point from Eddie Brennan went over with a couple of minutes to go that he even allowed a smile to break out. They are a relentless, driven team. That comes from the management down.

Cody took Willie O'Dwyer off in the first half. He'd dropped Richie Power and the quiet message to O'Dwyer there would have been that he would have to produce a storming first quarter to keep Power on the bench. As it happened, Willie got taken off and Limerick had to endure the sight of Power coming in straining at the leash. It was a brilliant use of his own resources by Cody. No room for sentiment.

There is a ruthless streak there. It is no harm for players to be half afraid of the manager. A little bit of fear is always a good thing. After Charlie Carter and a couple of other high-profile farewells every hurler in Kilkenny knows that Brian Cody is capable of dropping anyone. That is some weapon to have in the pocket. The quality of the panel is a great help in keeping law and order.

Kilkenny have a team of great players but they wouldn't be a great team without Cody. Some managers have short shelf lives. Cody has no expiration date other than the one he sets for himself.