Derek McGrath fears ‘fall-off’ in performance from his young Waterford charges

Waterford hurling manager Derek McGrath is concerned his younger players will struggle to sustain their league form into the summer.

2013 All-Ireland minor-winning trio Austin Gleeson, Stephen Bennett and Tom Devine, along with Colin Dunford and Tadhg de Búrca (both still U21), were central figures in last month’s league final win and McGrath is worried a “fall-off” will materialise during the championship.

“I am worried now that the fall-off will come later in the year based on early season training and based on the run that we got in the league,” admitted the Déise boss.

“I am worried not that the season will fade away, but that the fall will come at some stage and we don’t know what the reaction of the fall will be.

“The nature of it is such that if we could have a relatively successful Munster championship, All-Ireland series and target an U21 All-Ireland, it would be huge progress for Waterford.”

Surprised by the rapid progression of the squad’s younger members, McGrath believes the lack of expectation surrounding Waterford early in the year, stemming from sweeping changes in panel personnel and numerous retirements during the off-season, enabled Gleeson, Dunford and company to flourish.

“The rate of progress of the younger players has surprised me, even though when you make the decision we made, you are under the radar to a certain degree. People say ‘Waterford are clearly in the act of team building’, so you have that space to maybe not fool everyone, but say ‘hey, we are actually okay here, the players that were brought in are actually very good’. The rate of progress has been faster than we thought.”

The secondary school teacher is adamant this crop did not come near the ceiling of their abilities when scoring a 10-point win over Cork to claim the county’s third league crown, but, again, expresses reservations about the months ahead.

“I think there is lots left in this team. Whether it comes in this Munster championship or the next Munster championship, I am not sure. I think the team will get better over the next two or three years. You think I am playing the game by dismissing this year’s Munster championship but I think Waterford will be in a very good place in two years. There are players outside the panel that will make a really significant impact when they come into the squad. You would have to hope there is another level. Otherwise it will only be spat back in your face that it was only the league.”

Responding to the divided opinion on the counter-attacking system employed during the spring, McGrath insisted there is a plan in place that will see the team adopt a more open, free-flowing approach, reminiscent of the Justin McCarthy era.

“Maybe it is time to change it a small bit or change it altogether and maybe be a bit more conventional than we have been. It is very hard, outside of complacency, to not be stale and to reinvent the wheel in terms of preparation. We will continue to do what we can do to try and win the game.

“There is this absolute obsession with the late 90s and the mid-noughties in Waterford, and rightly so in terms of the flamboyance of the players. There will be a time where we can open up again.

“There is a plan in place that we will be able to open up a small bit more.” He also knocked on the head suggestions that Cork don’t do tactics. “Daniel Kearney sat back in front of Austin Gleeson in last year’s replay, Aidan Walsh came deep, centre-forward Bill Cooper came very deep and we got sucked out the field chasing the game. It is not that Cork don’t use tactics, Cork will always believe they can beat Waterford in the Munster championship. That is inherent. It is not arrogance, it is confidence.

“They are a team that takes some beating when it comes to Munster championship. They carry themselves so well.

“I was questioned before the league final about Aidan Ryan’s inclusion in the Cork team at full-back. I answered it by saying that Mickey O’Connell was included in the 1999 team against Waterford, as was Neil Ronan and a few other debutants. They went on to win the All-Ireland. For me, it is just set up for Cork to have a massive championship.”