AS LITTLE white lie greets travellers crossing into the county on the Dublin-Cork road. The sign, outside Urlingford, is unapologetically arrogant, somewhat like its hurlers. "Welcome to Tipperary, the home of hurling. Winners of 2 All-Ireland's."

The second digit has been scratched away by either vandalism or time - the actual figure is 24, behind Cork and Kilkenny - but the fact that there has been no need to alter its configuration tells its own sorry tale.

The McCarthy Cup hasn't been `home' since 1991. Too long for aficionados of the game. What's more, Tipperary's bogey team of recent years, Limerick, lie in store for tomorrow's Munster semi-final tussle in Thurles. Nobody said it would be easy.

In Semple Stadium this Tuesday night, no more than 60 supporters are huddled in the stand staring out on to a green sward that has 31 players and a manager, dotted around its confines. "It's like a carpet, like a carpet," whispers John Leahy from the back of the dugout, sheltering from the rain.

Someone had mentioned how poor the surface in Croke Park had looked for the Offaly-Laois match. There were no Garth Brooks concerts here, the pitch is perfect for hurling. As it should be. On this night, even mighty Tipperary must be content with temporary juvenile goals on the 20 metres line so that the real goal-mouths won't be damaged.

His master's voice echoes in from the pitch.

"Go on, go on, go on. One handed, pick it up.

Len Gaynor is, as usual, in the midst of the action. Encouraging cajoling. Fiercely passionate. Another of the modern breed of hurling manager. Demanding, yet understanding. A Kilruane McDonagh man. A Tipperary man. Irony of ironies, he only won one county championship medal himself as a player with his club; and that was a football title back in 1977.

They say Gaynor only demands of his players what he would expect of himself. He is inclined to laugh when he hears such things. "I'll tell you what," he says. "We got away with murder in our day. A couple of laps of the pitch and that was it. The pace has increased enormously since I left the scene. Today's players are so much fitter, have so many more demands on them."

Since last October, when Gaynor and his fellow selectors Murt Duggan and Michael Doyle, who is also the county's under-21 team manager, started the preparations for the provincial championship, the players' have been through 94 training sessions.

Tonight's penultimate meeting for the match with Limerick lasts for little over an hour. Stick work and speed. The hard work has been done, and the fine-tuning is all that is needed. The session goes like clockwork and, when it is all over, the players head for the VIP area in the far stand, out of the rain, to stretch and limber.

The loyal fans are still hanging around, ears out for any little tit-bit. "Did ye hear the team? Aidan's in for Brendan." "Tough on Carroll." "A bit, but Butler was brilliant against Kilkenny." Generally, though, the hangers-on are, dangerously, in agreement with the selectors. There is a new sense of optimism. It could be Tipperary's year.

They said the same last year, too. Until Tipperary lost to Limerick in the Munster Final replay at Pairc Ui Chaoimh. The local Tipperary Star newspaper captured the mood of the county, players and supporters' alike, with a two word banner headline. `TIPP GUTTED!', it said.

The dressing room afterwards was like a morgue, some, notably Nicky English, called it a day and, since then, the team has undergone a metamorphosis.

Gaynor's installation as manager has helped the transition. He carries a fine reputation from his own playing days: left-half back on the Tipperary team that beat Wexford in the first ever under-21 All-Ireland final in 1964 and, a couple of weeks later, called up to the senior side where he turned out to be the team's star in the Oireachtas Cup final win over Kilkenny.

Gaynor went on to claim All-Ireland senior titles in 1965 and 1971 and collected Railway Cup honours in 1968, `69 and `70. A' good curriculum vitae.

Indeed, his association with training/coaching stretches back to 1970 when, still a player, he assumed responsibility for club teams in Kilruane McDonagh's. The black and whites were to capture the All-Ireland club crown in 1986.

Yet, Gaynor has yet to transfer such success on to the senior county stage. His four years as Clare manager encompassed two Munster finals - both losses - and, yet, a year later, in 1995, after his departure, they were crowned All-Ireland champions.

His memories as Clare manager, however, remain good ones; and he is reluctant to claim any of the credit for their subsequent All-Ireland victory. "I enjoyed my time there and I wouldn't like to take any of the praise for that win. They won the All-Ireland when I was gone. I wouldn't be looking for any of the limelight for that he says, moved on, for Gaynor and Tipperary. Strangely, though, he finds himself in a similar position to his early days with Clare. A number of players have broken through and, with an average age of about 26, the team has shed its old man look Still tomorrow's encounter with Limerick is the first, real big test for many, a chance to enact revenge for others.

However, the recent National League win over Kilkenny has instilled a higher level of confidence than might otherwise have been the case. Three players - Aidan Butler, Philip O'Dwyer and team captain Conor Gleeson - are making their championship debuts, and Michael Cleary, defying medical and other opinions, has recovered from a serious head injury and mans the full-forward position.

But the question marks persist. Even Cleary admits, "the young lads have come through some high-calibre league games . .. but we won't really know until the Limerick match if the team is bright. However, after last year's match, we all feel there is something for us to redress."

Gaynor experienced the hurt of last year's provincial replay defeat to Limerick as a Tipperary man, not as a manager. He is a player's man. Ensures they are looked after. "The players are the important people, and if they're not comfortable and happy they're hardly going to produce."

His talks are invariably hard and passionate. "I like to get my message across all right," he admits. "But I try to make my pre-match speeches easy enough to understand. I don't want to cloud people's minds, I like them to hear everything I have to say. In a lot of cases, though, I'd sometimes prefer just to have a quiet word in a fellow's ear, that's often the best way."

Indeed, modern day managers have, in a way, adopted a sports psychology approach, developed as much by accident as design, transferring their fiery brands of sporting religion with passion and eloquence. It seems to be particularly applicable to hurling managers, a la Messrs Griffin and Loughnane, Ryan and Gaynor.

"A manager's position is important in that someone has to give guidance and leadership. Someone has to do that. But I wouldn't like the manager to be bigger than the players. I'd prefer to step back a little bit, I like them to be able to fend for themselves because they are the ones out on the pitch and they must realise when the time comes for a little variation during a game."

Yep, a player's manager.

Leahy is on the physiotherapist's bench now in the middle of the same lucky dressing room that Tipperary will occupy for tomorrow's clash. His calf muscle injury is the only cause of concern. "How's the leg, John," asks the manager. "I've one good one," replies the Mullinahone man. "Sure that's all you need," comes the reply.

Tipperary's bench has players that other teams would give their eye-teeth for; Frend, Carroll, McGrath, Conal Bonnar. It's a long list. "We've a lot of strength in depth," agrees Gaynor.

"The League worked out well for us. We were lucky and unlucky early on because of injuries and we had to play a lot of players who mightn't have got a run and they've come through. The latter stages of the league, especially, were ideal preparation for the championship."

So, what of Limerick? No Tipperary man ever underestimates Limerick. "I think they're even better than last year," states Gaynor. "After the All-Ireland, a lot of people thought that would be the end of them, that some would just pack it in. But they've come back stronger than ever, particularly in the forwards where they don't seem to rely on Gary Kirby quite as much. A lot of other forwards are scoring more freely."

But, then, the belief, too, is that Tipperary are better than last year. And, if Limerick have held the whip hand over them for the past two years, there has to come a time for a change. The show of support for Tipperary has been remarkably orderly. There is no jingoistic display of flags or buntings in the streets or shops of Thurles.

Yet, the impression exists that the county is hopeful, rather than overly optimistic, that this could be their year. Deja vu.