Maher: No issue with Déise ban on training

The four-week ban on Waterford hurling training handed down by the county board was blown out of proportion according to Déise selector Willie Maher.

The Waterford hurlers were not permitted to train collectively for a 27-day period and only stepped back inside the whitewash the weekend before last, three weeks out from their Munster championship opener against Cork.

Maher said too much was made of the training hiatus by the media and while he admitted it was difficult to monitor players’ progression during the ban, the management had no qualms in abiding by the board’sdecision.

“We played Wexford on the Thursday night after we came back from our training camp in Portugal and we didn’t get together then until four weeks later, the Bank Holiday weekend. It was made very clear that we were not to do anything for those four weeks. It was a case of managing injuries through club physios. Guys played club hurling for two weeks and club football for two weeks and we didn’t see them at all. Too much was made of it.”

Maher, who managed Tipperary to All-Ireland minor glory in 2012, was adamant the squad’s attitude hadn’t soured over the training ban.

Injuries, however, have dampened morale. Philip Mahony (double leg fracture) is ruled out of the Cork clash, with major doubts hanging over the fitness of Maurice Shanahan (back) and Stephen Molumphy (hamstring).

Sick bay has been piling up steadily with Darragh Fives, Stephen Daniels, Richie Foley, Jake Dillon, Brian O’Halloran and Stephen Bennett all unlikely to make it.

“They are negatives. There is no point saying they aren’t. We have to take the positives out of them and it gives another guy the opportunity to step up. That is what we have been preaching for the last while.”

With a management in its first season at the helm and a spate of young players finding their feet at senior level — not forgetting Tony Browne’s retirement — Maher says Waterford hurling is now in transition.

Relegation from the league also didn’t aid their standing.

“The league served its purpose in that it gave guys good, hard games for six weeks. We learned a huge amount from it,” Maher added.

“It is very much a transition phase for Waterford hurling. That’s ultimately where it is.

“If you look at the rankings at the moment you have Tipperary, Kilkenny, Limerick, Clare Galway, Dublin and Cork. They are all ahead of us so that leaves us in eighth. In reality, we are striving to move further up the ladder. That is the goal for the summer ahead.”