Derek McGrath: Why I committed to Waterford for the 2018 campaign

Derek McGrath is frank about the All-Ireland final aftermath.

Once the emotional homecoming to Waterford subsided, he had, by his own admission, “a muddled mind” for a few weeks.

“I’d said to myself even at home that 2017 would be my final year,” says the Déise senior hurling manager.

“I’d confided that to a few people but I probably walked myself into a bit of a booby trap with the parental leave, publicising that, so I heaped pressure on us.

“Then the traditional big guns were out of the championship, and that’s no disrespect to Galway, but Tipp, Kilkenny, Cork gone — you have an opportunity, though Galway were the best team in the championship.

“When Clare got a chance in 2013 they took the chance, Wexford took their chance in 1996.”

In weighing up 2018 McGrath took everything into account, including the possibility of “next year being very difficult”.

He said: “There have been incremental improvements since we got relegated the first year, and you’d worry about the drop-off.

“It’d only be human nature to worry about the drop-off, going back.

“I met loads of Waterford people who said ‘you’re that close, a puck of a ball’ — and I’m thinking of the path that’s ahead, and you always have to strategise to be one step ahead.

“Just because you have people saying you’re close...”

But that home support was a significant factor, he adds.

“The homecoming, and separating yourself from the emotion of the homecoming, it was like we turned a corner in terms of any kind of criticism that we had, it was like people really getting behind us, and you’re thinking, ‘would you be leaving them down’.”

McGrath met 30 players on his own in The Sweep — typically he can recall Tommy Ryan and Maurice Shanahan weren’t there as they were away — and they talked. He decided to stay on.

“I wouldn’t be able to look them in the eye, even though you’ve given them four years, and a lot of years in school.

“In terms of one more year, though, you’d be able to look them in the eye no matter what happens. There’s been no real questioning what we do in four years with the players, which is a good sign of a tight unit. Plus there were issues — not with the board, but I was putting forward my plans for the league, and I’m not saying they were developmental, but there was a ‘can you live with the fact we might be defeated if we give A, B, or C a run in the league?’ as opposed to what we did last year.

“There’s a sorting-out process in terms of their opinions, there were circumstances to sort out at home, my wife’s work — different things that had to be sorted. I had to ensure the growth mindset was part of everyone’s thinking, that there’d be setbacks along the way.”

Lengthy discussions with the county board fuelled speculation about conflict between the two sides. McGrath shakes his head.

“Not really — there were differences of opinion, arguments, but I wouldn’t say angry exchanges. Frank discussions, different opinions.

“I’d have to accept the holiday being publicised — I’d have researched with other losing finalists, and we just wanted a parity of approach on that rather than coming across with prima donna requests. I didn’t want a meeting with ‘what’s he looking for now’ or anything.

“Part of the job is representing the players for what they deserve and I think we struck a happy medium there. I have to accept Waterford is not Kilkenny, it’s not Dublin in terms of financial clout. My vision might be different to theirs but I have to get better with working with people in general, not just the team.

“There were discussions, but that’s in the nature of any conversation between management and a county board. We all want the same thing but have different ways of getting that.

“But it wasn’t a stand-off, or people not talking to each other nor not standing being in the same room as each other. Nor would I want to go back to the players and say ‘oh they wouldn’t agree to this or that’.

“There’s actually a good working relationship. There are agreements and disagreements like any relationship, but we focused on 2018, and we’ll see after that.”

Lessons learned in previous years will be brought to bear next season.

“We’ve put huge pressure on ourselves over the years,” says McGrath.

“Maybe because we got relegated the first year — but we’ve said, ‘whatever happens we have to stay up’. But in terms of getting better as a manager you can’t live in fear of relegation, you have to go match by match and determine to enjoy it.

“Looking back at the Clare game last year, Tom Devine came on and changed the whole game, we got a win and it saved us from relegation. If we’d drawn that game we were in relegation play-offs against Dublin.

“It’s the stigma, but that’s gone, I think. Galway, Clare, ourselves have all won the league from 1B, Wexford had a fabulous run from 1B last year.

It’s probably more of an issue at board level than team level.

“If there was more unity on the league you could enjoy it, you could say to your Fitzgibbon players to enjoy a few pints after those games and get them ready for the end of April, the club month.

“We’re lucky with the club month in that if we get together the weekend of the 29th, we still have a five-week run in, we have a bye so we’re not out until the 27th of May, I think.

“Against that, if you got to the league final at the end of March and then sent the lads back to the clubs, it’d be ideal, but we’ll have to take it as it comes.”