Call to help with Tipperary rebuild gave Padraic Maher 'butterflies'

Padraic Maher admits he is still getting used to being a former hurler but he believes that a new management role with his native Tipperary is the next best thing to playing.

The three-time All-Ireland winner was forced into a shock retirement in February due to a neck problem.

Speaking on 2fm's Game On to promote the launch of his autobiography All on the Line, he said: "It’s very challenging still, to be honest.

"Your family and friends do help but you have to deal with it yourself.

"You’re taken out of a routine. There are different emotions. It’s something that you’ve been doing since you were a child, though it got more and more serious as you got older.

"You’re not expecting it to be over as quick as I did and I just wasn’t prepared.

"I still have challenges: mentally, and just finding a routine, being taken out of a high-performance environment."

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What made the blow harder for the six-time All-Star was the fact that he could not even continue to play for Thurles Sarsfields, having been given strong medical advice against playing contact sport.

"I have to go for check-up scans every couple of months, and you’re still kind of holding on to that [tiny] percentage that maybe there’s a major improvement and it’s after repairing itself. But unfortunately, that’s not the way it is.

"I’m well aware I had a great and lengthy career and that I’m very lucky.

"But the killing thing for me is not getting that extra couple of years with the club.

"Most inter-county players when they retire get