Kilkenny hurling legend and current Galway boss Henry Shefflin has claimed that people saying the Leinster Hurling Championship is a foregone conclusion are "disrespectful."
Kilkenny have already made the All-Ireland series, but they still have work to do to make the Leinster final despite sitting at the top of the group.
The likes of Galway, Wexford, and Dublin could also advance from the group, but only two can progress, with the other exiting the championship.
There had been an expectation that the Leinster Championship would be decided between the likes of Galway and Kilkenny, as it has most years, but this year has been different.
Many people feel there is no comparison between the Munster and Leinster Hurling Championships, with many expecting both formats not to be comparable, which they mostly aren't
Shefflin has slammed the detractors of the SLHC, claiming that holding such views was disrespectful.
(Photo By Seb Daly/Sportsfile via Getty Images)"For any of the teams involved, we probably knew it was going to come like that," said the Kilkenny legend to Galway Bay FM.
"I think there was a lot of media attention at the beginning of the campaign where they were just talking about Munster.
"People were saying, "Ah, Leinster is going to be a foregone conclusion with two teams getting to a Leinster final" and I thought it was very disrespectful.
"I'm delighted to say that it has shown the strong nature of the Leinster championship."
Shefflin has also admitted that the nature of the campaign has made it an exciting one. He has welcomed the challenge.
"It's made for a very interesting campaign—a very challenging one for some of us.
"But it has been a very exciting campaign and it's going to finish with three very important games this Sunday."
