Hype affected Déise, says Davy

Davy Fitzgerald admitted his Waterford players were negatively affected by the mass hype prior to the 2008 All-Ireland hurling final and he is determined to avoid a similar scenario arising this weekend.

The Clare boss, who last night named an unchanged team from the side that beat Limerick in the All-Ireland SHC semi-final, said the build-up in the Banner County has been nothing short of incredible this part fortnight, but admitted he has exhausted every avenue to ensure his squad were well shielded.

“I suppose the thing I learned with Waterford the last time was maybe the lads got caught up in the hype,” the Sixmilebridge man told Clare FM. “It was very hard because Waterford hadn’t been in a final for 45 years. Trust me, if you get caught up in the hype you are in trouble. I am trying to make sure that doesn’t happen here. People are excited and that is great, but we need to detach ourselves from that and not get caught up in it.”