Willie’s back with a bang!
New boss revived career
WILLIE DEVEREUX has revealed how Davy Fitzgerald has helped him to resurrect his inter-county career, having opted out of the squad last year.
The St. Martin’s man has worked his way back through the system to regain his place in defence after losing out on twelve months of inter-county hurling, taking full advantage of that call from the new manager.
Willie is carrying two stitches on the bridge of his nose which he attributes to his clubmate Aaron Maddock, but he laughed off the idea that it will have any bearing on his future looks.
It was a combination of heavy work commitments and lack of opportunities that influenced his decision to opt out of the 2016 campaign.
‘I was not getting much game time having put in the heavy training. Also my work load was heavy enough which also influenced my decision.
‘I decided to go back to the club, hoping to regain some form, and take it on from there. I work in the family business, just three miles away from home, so it left me with more time to concentrate on my work commitments,’ he said.
‘I did different things during those twelve months. I did not just sit around while I also gave more time to my club which was of huge benefit to me in re-gathering my focus and appetite for the game. Naturally when the big games were on it left me thinking.
‘I often wondered and thought I should be there, but in that year out I was happy in what I was doing. I’ve worked with this group of lads since I was 15 to 16 years of age, so it’s nice to be back in among them.’
Willie admitted that it was an easy decision to return once he received that call from Davy. ‘I possibly missed the opening few sessions but when I received that call there was never any doubts. I came back on the scene, worked hard in training, and took it on from there.
‘When I came back in I quickly found out what he wanted us to do. He wanted to get us into winning ways, build our confidence. It may have taken a short while to believe in this, but as time moved on we began to believe. We took the league first; promotion was our aim, which we achieved, but now we are determined to move on, build on that.
‘We are a happy camp. Everyone is happy in the camp, of that there’s no doubt. We have made progress, got promoted and now are in a Leinster final.
‘We are happy with the way things are going, everything is going well, the training is going well, it’s enjoyable, and everyone is enjoying everyone’s company. There is a great buzz in the camp.’
Devereux is delighted to be involved once again and can see the joy which the team is bringing to the county.
CONTINUED OPPOSITE