Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
ROLE MODEL
Wexford boss not interested in playing tricks on Cats says Martin so fairytale Storey could have another few chapters left
WEXFORD legend Martin Storey reckons there’s no chance of Davy Fitzgerald doing a ‘Banty’ and allowing Kilkenny the freedom of Nowlan Park.
Wexford football manager Seamus ‘Banty’ McEnaney put a weakened team out against Westmeath last weekend and suffered a 24-point beating.
There was method in the manager’s apparent madness because he was keeping his powder dry ahead of the same counties’ meeting at Croke Park in the Division 4 final.
Hurling chief Fitzgerald is in a similar position today as this will be a dress rehearsal for a likely Leinster Championship tie between Wexford on Kilkenny on June 10.
But 1996 All-Ireland winning captain Storey isn’t expecting the Model County to hold anything back today with a League semi-final spot on the line.
Storey (left) said: “I just don’t think you can hurl one way for the League and then do something totally different or change all your players to face Kilkenny. I think it’s more an opportunity to let us know if the improvement that everyone is talking about is really there.”
Wexford shocked the hurling world with victories over
Limerick and Galway in February to effectively secure promotion to Division 1A at that early stage.
Storey said it’s been hugely positive but reckons fans should keep their feet on the ground. He said: “You will always get an immediate response when a new manager comes in. Call it the honeymoon period, whatever you want, but there’s always an injection of enthusiasm and interest with a new manager.
“What we’ve got to see now is that consistency all the time. Then the players will start expecting it of themselves and they’ll naturally set higher standards. That’s where you want to see the whole thing going.”
Storey hasn’t been surprised to see Fitzgerald appeal for calm among supporters at several stages this year.
The Ouart-The Ballagh hero said: “That’s just good management. You can’t win an AllIreland in March or April, you can’t win a Leinster Championship or you can’t even win a League.”
And Storey reckons they could be in for a big shock today in Kilkenny if they’re not totally tuned in.
Storey said: “They were very poor against Waterford and Waterford could have scored three or four more goals, the very same against Clare.
“Then when it really counted and they were playing Tipperary, the All-Ireland champions, it was totally different. That, to me, was the Litmus test for Kilkenny and they passed it.”
Call it the honeymoon period..there’s always an injection of enthusiasm with new boss