Mulqueen: This is a big year for Clare

We all know how nervous players can get before big games.

Even stars suffer and it doesn’t get any easier as they get older.

What about the managers and selectors, though? It’s arguable they have even more to be nervous about but because they’re on the sideline they have less control over what’s happening on the field.

Louis Mulqueen is in his second season with Clare as one of Davy Fitzgerald’s sidekicks and as they put the final touches to preparations for Sunday’s Munster SHC opener, he’s beginning to feel the butterflies.

“Yes, this is a big year for us, our second year in management,” he said.

“We need a good result against Waterford and hopefully we’ve learned a lot from the six games we’ve played in the league. We played in the top grade, six really competitive games. Ok, we got a bit of a pasting from Tipperary in the final round, but all that was invaluable experience for a young side. The final game, particularly, the relegation win over Cork, that gave us a real boost, finishing up on a positive note.

“We’re hoping to speed up our hurling again now, rectify some of the poor shooting and stop conceding soft goals.”

Boyish as he looks, Louis has been around the block a few times.

He played with and trained the Clare U21 football side back in 1984, trained the minor hurling team to its first All-Ireland title in 1997, helped St Joseph’s Doora-Barefield to county, Munster and All-Ireland club titles before spending four years with the Clare seniors under Ger Loughnane and Cyril Lyons. He has been around long enough to know he should be nervous about this Sunday. The pressure is almost all on Clare. It might be only this management team’s second year but, with two All-Ireland U21 titles in the last four years, expectation levels surrounding Clare — both inside and outside the county — have grown.

Around Waterford, despite the fact they have been making massive strides at underage level, the opposite is the case. But the rationale makes no sense to Mulqueen.

“That’s crazy. Waterford were in the last four Munster finals. We’re just trying to become competitive in Munster, get to that stage. People are looking at the league and the fact we put in a few good performances but Waterford have beaten us the last two times we met, albeit by small margins.”

It’s the two U21 titles you see, the first Clare had won at that grade. There was huge hype around the championship both years with a host of Clare youngsters grabbing the attention. Now they are starring in the senior side the public expects.

Waterford though, while not winning at that grade, have been very competitive and made history of their own with De La Salle (2007 and ’08) and Dungarvan Colleges (2013) winning All-Ireland A Colleges titles. In manager Michael Ryan they also have a man with the Midas touch, a plethora of titles won with teams he has coached, yet all that is ignored in the build-up to this game.

“That’s 100% right,” says Mulqueen. “Both Clare and Waterford are trying to blood in a lot of young players, see how they fit into the senior set-up. But ours are better known at the moment because of the two All-Ireland U21 wins. When we played Waterford in the league they had two youngsters at wing-forward, but when I looked at the stats afterwards they had won 14 of 18 possessions. Seamus Prendergast came right through the middle at one stage and got a goal. Waterford have that bit of experience, a nice blend of youth and experience that we haven’t got at the moment and people should recognise that.

“It’s the opening round of the Munster championship, against Waterford. You’re going into it with enthusiasm but knowing it’s going to be a serious battle. What we’re hoping is that we give a good account of ourselves and let the result take care of itself.”