‘Don’t be putting ourselves down’

LIAM DUNNE has been instrumental in improving the discipline of his Oulart-the-Ballagh club team with measures such as training sessions the morning after county final victories.

But he hopes the attitude espoused by his club players will be replicated by Wexford as well.

“We are a great county and great hurlers, don’t be putting ourselves down,” he stressed.

“We brought that into the James Stephens game as well. We played James Stephens in a tournament game last year and we beat them.

“We got €1,000 for winning it. It was in Mooncoin. I asked the lads what they wanted to do with it. They came back to me the following night and said they wanted to buy a set of tight-fit Oulart jerseys.

“I said to them on the [October] Bank Holiday of the James Stephens game they could wear the jerseys that they spent the €1,000 on, that they bought themselves, the black ones. We’ll beat James Stephens. You could have p***ed it down the drain if you want to, wear your own jerseys, there were a lot of little things that day.”

Dunne is aiming to prove people wrong like he did when he took over managing his club’s senior team. “Lots of people in my own parish said I was too close to the players, which I thought was rubbish because I am years older than them. Myself and [Martin] Storey were on a different wavelength to these fellas.

“I never actually even watched one of them lift the cup over the last three years. I have done it twice myself and got beaten for the three in a row as captain. Not that I would disrespect winning a county title or watching them do it but I always felt I wanted a bit more.”