Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
DEREK HAS GOT IT ALL: CURRAN
PATRICK CURRAN believes Derek Mcgrath is a one in a million manager – and knows he was right to pack in the day-job for now in his bid to lead Waterford to hurling’s Holy Grail. As a student teacher looking at the duties Derek Mcgrath had on his plate as both a secondary school English teacher in De La Salle and as Deise boss, the 21-year-old understands why Mcgrath has extended his parental leave. “Derek is the type of man who wants to give 100 per cent whatever he’s at,” said Curran, ahead of Sunday’s Munster semi-final against Cork. “I have the same mindset as well. You have to be all in. “I’ve never experienced a manager like Derek. He has been brilliant. Players have total belief in him and he has total belief in the players. He has created that bond. “He will do anything for you and you will do anything for him. “Aside from the fact he’s an unbelievable at taking a training and coaching, he has every aspect covered. He has it all. “He wants to improve us as hurlers but wants to improve us as people too. His outlook on it is that if you are a better person, you can become a better hurler as well. “He has improved me as a person, without a doubt. When I started off, I found it hard to make the step up to senior and Derek was definitely a driving force behind me, giving me the confidence to do that. “I was always a confidence player but he definitely made that transition a bit easier. He got me to look at the game in different ways.”