Best advice is to support hurlers with no pressure

THE hurling decade started with Wexford struggling to join the elite at the top table.

As a county, Wexford never gave up the battle, but the struggle was becoming more and more of a mountain to climb. We enjoyed the odd major victory in the national league but generally the championship was a washout with the county unable to make a serious assault on a provincial title let alone the Liam McCarthy Cup.

There was no doubt the county needed help. Down in Division 1B of the national league, unable to make it to the top flight where the players would be tested against the elite, Wexford instead were restricted to the one or two games against quality opposition, but always for some reason missing out on that elusive promotion spot.

Wexford had reached a stage where they needed help, they needed a quality man at the helm, as they hankered with returning as serious title contenders. Liam Dunne had battled through his years at the helm, looked at stages to be making good progress, but for some reason the players were failing to deliver.

Whether it was desperation or what but then County Chairman, Diarmuid Devereux, believed that Wexford needed an experienced and quality manager. So, in his final hours at the helm of Wexford G.A.A. after five years as County Chairman, he decided to bite the bullet. Davy Fitzgerald had just finished with his native Clare, but few knew if he was enthusiastic or ready for another challenge.

Fitzgerald is a proud man, proud of his record both as a player and manager, but Devereux believed he was the man with the qualities that Wexford needed to bring the game to another level in the county.

The Clare native had to deal with Wexford’s record, their lack of progress, and if the county had the quality players to mix it with the elite.

When I met him for his first local media interview in Wexford Park he wondered, ‘what have I let myself in for?’

Having just accepted the job, convinced by Devereux that he had so much to offer, with Wexford also having much to offer in return, Fitzgerald was given three year goal of promotion to Division 1A and qualification for a provincial final, along with brining the county into the top five hurling counties.

There’s no doubt but that Davy has proved exceptional for Wexford. When he came in there was difficulties to overcome but he worked quietly behind the scenes with players, brought their fitness to the required level, improved their individual skills and brought a real game plan to their play, areas that quickly led him to compete with the top sides.

Fitzgerald has we enter another decade has ended the last decade on a high. Not alone has he the county competing at the highest level in the league, but he also ended that long barren spell without a provincial title, while coming ever so close to qualifying for the All-Ireland final.

But the Clare supremo is intelligent enough to realise that 2020 will once again be a hugely difficult and competitive year.

One can understand why supporters are expecting so much but given the competitive nature of even the provincial championship, the loyal supporter should not be placing pressure on the players, as they compete with the likes of Kilkenny, Galway and Dublin, to retain the Bob O’Keeffe Cup.

I can go back over many decades where the provincial title race was down to Wexford and Kilkenny, until Offaly arrived on the scene, so one can now imagine what it’s like competing with the likes of Kilkenny who have dominated the Liam McCarthy title race with the odd interjection of Tipperary.

So, this brings us to 2020. It won’t be easy as one can expect a reaction from the likes of Kilkenny and Galway, while Dublin can also be expected to become serious title contenders.

Soon the questions will come thick and fast. But the best advice is to support and encourage the Wexford players to step up to the challenges, without applying real pressure or expecting a victory on each and every occasion.

It’s going to be difficult. Wexford have the quality but give the players space and let them respond in their own individual ways without the pressure.

Fitzgerald knows we face a challenge, but he also knows how to protect his players.