Dan Shanahan: League finalists should be ‘taken care of’

Waterford selector Dan Shanahan says the hurlers of Clare and Waterford “should be taken care of” after serving up a draw in last Sunday’s NHL final.

The counties collide again next weekend and Shanahan described the entertainment they provided as “phenomenal”.

“The players don’t ask for much, whatever it is at the end of the year it’s something they deserve. The entertainment out there was unbelievable.

“It wasn’t probably the best game to watch but it was entertaining. These players - every player, I’m not just on about the Waterford lads but every player - should get taken care of better. I know the GPA and GAA are looking into that.

“I hope they do because there are lads playing Premiership games today and they’re getting whatever they’re getting. You have that entertainment out there, the fastest game on grass.”

Shanahan acknowledged that it took time for the game to warm up.

“Looking at the way both teams set up, it was going to be tit for tat. The way Clare play, the way Waterford play, it’s going to be shadow-boxing for a while. It opened up a bit in the second half, in extra time as well.

“It was a tight end, a tight finish – we were happy to get the draw. We’d a lot of wides being honest with you, but so had Clare.

“We’re there with a chance again. It’s probably a game we didn’t need, playing Clare again in Championship. It’s a game we could have lost but we didn’t.”

The big Lismore man sees interest in the game increasing next week: “It’s going to ramp up next week more than the fifth of June. I don’t know what the attendance was but I think it will ramp up next week. Two teams who want to hurl; it might be a better game next week. Hopefully we’ll get the result.”

Waterford will need to improve their accuracy, however, for their return to Thurles.

“It is a big concern. We’re disappointed that we hit so many wides but a lot of them came from play as well. Maybe we should have carried the ball a bit more rather than shooting from out the field which we’ve instructed the boys to do.

“We’re still in the hunt for a trophy. Recovery now is vital. They’re amateur players and the way they played out there was unbelievable.”

Shanahan added that Sunday’s conclusion showed talk of ‘shadow-boxing’ ahead of the championship was “absolute BS”.

“That’s being honest with you,” said Shanahan. “You want to win a trophy. There’s a new trophy up there and everyone wants to win it. We’re no different than Clare. They haven’t won it since 1978; we want to create history and be the first Waterford team to win it two years in a row. You saw the passion out there from both sets of benches, both sets of players.”