Flannery impressed at Déise’s smooth transition

The seamless manner in which Waterford’s new hurling management has clicked with the players augers well for a third league final appearance in five years, according to former Déise defender Brian Flannery.

Páraic Fanning replaced Derek McGrath as Waterford boss in September of last year, but given the latter had been five years at the helm and the close ties he developed with the panel during this time, there was no guarantee of a smooth succession.

Certainly, there was no guarantee this year’s league would go as swimmingly as it has, particularly when you consider new faces were bedding in on the sideline and the size of the Waterford injury list at present.

The Déise meet Galway in this Sunday’s Division 1 semi-final at Nowlan Park and while other counties may have taken a cavalier approach to this year’s league, Waterford’s very limited haul when it comes to national silverware, according to Flannery, means they cannot afford to hold back in attempting to reach a third league decider since 2015.

Moreover, victory over the Tribesmen would further enhance what has already been an encouraging spring for new-look Waterford.

There would have been a fear, and this is always the case when you have a new manager coming in, that standards could slip or maybe there wouldn’t be the same gel between management and players.

"There would have been a strong connection between Derek McGrath and the players.

There was always a worry that in relation to continuity, it might not go seamlessly,” said Flannery, who was corner-back on Waterford’s 2002 Munster final winning team.

“But talking to players locally, the word and vibe coming from the camp are very good and you can see that in their performances. They came from behind to beat Galway, they nearly caught Dublin. The last day, they were really far superior to a lacklustre Clare side.”

Flannery is excited at how Waterford are taking shape under their new manager. No seventh defender, no sweeper and plenty of bodies at the far end of the field.

Shane Bennett, who Flannery describes as “rejuvenated”, has struck 3-5 in this year’s league, while his brother Stephen has posted 3-69. Beside them, Tommy Ryan has helped himself to 4-5.

“There is a different look about Waterford under Páraic Fanning than would have been there in previous years. That has generated very strong results, very early. And that might surprise a lot of people.

"The fact that Waterford now play with six forwards, they occupy the six opposition defenders.

"There would have been a lot of occasions in recent years when Tom Devine, Shane Bennett or Maurice Shanahan would have been at full-forward and when the ball was put in on top of them, you would have found they were outnumbered three to one. That’s gone. Shane Bennett has a bit of company close to goal and he is revelling in that.”

With Tadhg de Búrca, Brian O’Halloran, Conor Gleeson, Darragh and Shane Fives, Conor Prunty, and Kieran Bennett out injured, Flannery has been impressed by the contributions of Callum Lyons, Conor Roche, and Shane McNulty in recent weeks.

“So many guys have shown themselves to be comfortable and capable at senior inter-county level.

That’s most welcome, given the round-robin nature of the Munster SHC will see the depth of your panel under constant scrutiny. Last year, injuries really affected performance during the Munster championship. Strength in depth wasn’t an asset last year.

Flannery concluded: “Waterford don’t have the multiple titles that Cork, Kilkenny and Tipperary do. A league title would be a huge boost, even just to get into the final.”