GAA: Henry Shefflin says 2015 All-Ireland SHC Championship will be the tightest ever

The 2015 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship will be one of the tightest yet and Kilkenny are expecting a tough campaign as they defend their title, according to Henry Shefflin.

Shefflin lifted the Liam McCarthy Cup for Kilkenny in September after his side overcame Tipperary at the second attempt, after the first All-Ireland final was drawn.

The Cats have lifted the Liam McCarthy Cup a record 35 times, but Shefflin believes competition at the top is only getting tighter.

“Every team will be gunning to knock Kilkenny off the top, that’s the way it is, that’s sport,” Shefflin told Sky Sports News HQ.

“This year’s championship was very, very tight and I expect it to be no different - if not even tighter - next year.

“I think the Championship in 2014 was a close championship first of all because there were a lot of games that were very close – a point of so either way – so I think that there were a lot of teams that put their hand up, that were very much in contention.

“Just look at my own team, Kilkenny, we had two replays over four or five games, won another couple of games by a point or two.”

Expectations for Kilkenny’s title defence will rest heavily on 35-year-old Shefflin, who joined the senior team in 1999.

Also central to Kilkenny’s success is manager Brian Cody who also joined in 1999. In his time as manager Cody, a former Kilkenny player himself, has won 10 All-Ireland titles, 12 Leinster titles and seven National League crowns.

“He’s been the Alex Ferguson of Kilkenny, really,” said Shefflin. “He’s been there so long but still has the appetite, that hunger, he’s our leader and he’s the one driving us on.”