Mansfield gives new Déise management his full support

FORMER manager Tony Mansfield has backed Michael Ryan’s appointment as Waterford’s new senior hurling team boss.

Mansfield was the last Waterford native to manage the county team, in the mid-1990s, prior to Ryan’s nomination by Déise top brass.

Ryan has assembled an impressive looking backroom team, comprising of highly-rated physical trainer Pat Flanagan, former selector Nicky Cashin and respected coach Brother Philip Ryan, who was involved in Davy Fitzgerald’s 2011 set-up. And Mansfield believes that Ryan’s management team holds the key to a smooth transition for the man who guided De La Salle to county and Munster SHC club glory in 2010.