Davy tells followers to ‘enjoy the spin’
‘Give us time’ asks new hurling boss
THERE’S ONLY one name on everyone’s lips in Wexford hurling circles - Davy Fitzgerald.
The former Clare and Waterford manager has taken the Model county by storm, and has already pulled together a squad of 41 players ready to get the winter training programme under way.
The spotlight may be on Davy but at the end of the day the hurling fraternity are hoping that the players will be able to deliver on their potential and be part of a whole new era for the game in Wexford.
And the new arrival said that having met up with the Wexford squad, he has his eyes firmly set on one big response from the players.
‘I have met the players. They are enthusiastic, a young bunch determined to progress not just Wexford hurling but also their own individual game,’ he said.
Still familiarising himself with the majority of the squad, Davy is back in inter-county management quicker than he may have expected but that same appetite for the game of hurling is still there for all to see. His enthusiasm and professionalism is to be admired, and he is confident this will spread through the entire squad and backroom set-up.
Nobody realised a few short months back that we would have Davy manning the Wexford sideline. But his old ambition and passion for hurling is still driving the Clare man despite having done it all with his native county both on and off the pitch.
Right now it’s a brave new world for the Sixmilebridge native but he is relishing the challenge. Despite his lengthy career he is still wary of the challenges that lie ahead but confident that the players will give one hundred per cent in their efforts to achieve their goal.
‘I have talked with the players. I have talked to them about a certain amount of stuff, gone into the detail of how they can make themselves better, , and where we can go from here,’ he said.
‘I’ve identified certain players, and how we can work on them to make them better players and work on them to improve. That’s the starting point, then we will continue to work on them showing how they can play as a group and achieve things.’
But one problem Davy is working hard on is to get to know all the players on an individual basis, giving each and every one of them an equal chance.
‘I’ve got to see all the players. Each and every player in that 41-man squad will be given an equal chance. They will be all given game time, the same type of attention to details,’ he promised.
‘The problem is, this is not like Clare where I knew every one of the players, so that’s my goal in Wexford, getting to know all the players, through training, challenge games, Walsh Cup and meetings.
‘We’ve a number of challenge games lined up in December. We play Waterford twice, Dublin and then Carlow, while we will also play Cork in Waterford on December 17.
‘We have three Walsh Cup games coming up in January while we also hope to fit in another two challenge games. I’ve got to see the players, and get to know the players, I’ve got to see them in game situations. It’s from there we really start building.’
Davy is hoping to see and get a great deal from those games. ‘I’ll be expecting honesty and effort. While it is also about winning, I still will not be obsessed about winning, not really bothered about winning at the moment.
‘I know a lot of the players at the moment but I’ve got to get to know all the players, and that’s the reasoning for those games. We have 41 players named in the squad at the moment, we’ll be cutting that back to 34 in mid-January.
‘There are some new bodies in, some bodies who have been there before in, that is all part of building our squad.’
Wexford’s problem may have been getting their game up to the intensity of the top sides, but that is all about to change.
‘The intensity we play at has to be unreal. When we play we will be bringing a whole new intensity to our game, that’s the way it has to be, that the reality of the situation.
‘Regarding our style of play there’s a variety of styles, which is one of the reasons I’ve got to see the players in training, and in match situations, before making any decisions. It’s easy for a team to say we’ll play it long.
‘I’d like to be able to play it short also, particularly as there are teams who sit their half-back line back, so it’s no use pumping long ball into them. What happened in Clare, what we would have done, is play both,’ he said.
‘In the last ten years, outside of Kilkenny and Tipperary, we are the only other county to have the All-Ireland.
‘You have to be capable of playing both styles, you can have wing-forwards tracking back, leaving corner-forwards to move out, you can have sweeper systems, but these are systems you have to be able to play, and get to know how to play, and be able to alternate, switch from one to another on a call from the sideline.
‘What suits Wexford I just don’t know yet. It will take a few months to find out what’s what. I may decide on playing a player in a different position which I believe suits his game.
‘This will all be part of the training, the challenge games, the Walsh Cup. It will take a few months as I cannot wave a magic wand and have it happen overnight. We are not coming in to say, play it long, play it short, play sweeper.
‘I would like to get to know the players and what suits Wexford. That’s what I, along with the coaches, will be working on in preparation for the National League.’
Davy has still to decide on the captaincy issue. ‘I normally go joint-captains. The players need to train away,
‘I need to find out more about each individual player, and then I will decide on the captaincy.
‘The way I look at it is, it’s not alone about one leader, it’s about several leaders. If they go up and collect silverware that is for all of us. The panel will be open-ended, there will be no closed door. There may be change and there may not, but I will be always on the look-out for players.’
Davy is hopeful that the ‘travel bug’ will not be part of the hurling set-up for 2017. ‘I would be extremely disappointed if anyone left to travel. If you are in to play for Wexford you are in.
‘If someone has intentions to travel I’d like to know now. There has been no mention of this, so hopefully it will not affect us.’
On the Ferns Centre of Excellence, Davy said: ‘The playing surface is exceptional. I have never seen anything like this before. Fair play to Wexford County Board on the provision of this facility. Also a special word for the caretaker, Seamus, who has everything ready, spick and span.
‘We are working together, we are all in this together, which is a plus having the Centre of Excellence. If we are successful, everyone benefits, including supporters, newspapers.’
His final call: ‘Give us a small bit of time. If it’s not working I will not overstay my welcome. I need a period to bring this team on, but what I’ll say to everyone, enjoy the spin, we will be committed to taking Wexford to another level.
‘From what I’ve seen of the players they are hugely committed. We’ll give it everything so I hope we all enjoy the spin.’
Davy gave this interview at the Club Wexford launch in the Amber Springs Hotel in Gorey on Saturday.