After reaching two major finals in 2020, a major trophy is Waterford’s target in 2021.
Déise boss Liam Cahill won’t dare look past Clare on Sunday however. “It’s a tough route to a Munster final. We really want to look no further than Clare on the 27th. This is our Munster final and All Ireland as far as I’m concerned. If we get over that, we can plan again for seven days later. Ultimately, the goal is to achieve silverware this year but we will be taking it match by match.”
They beat the Banner by nine points in the All Ireland quarter final last November but he expects a stiffer test this time around. “It’s a much-improved Clare team. Brian Lohan has got a real good handle on his squad. He was like any of us, the first year in it takes a little while to find the players in form and put them in the right positions. He has done a lot of surgery over the course of the league with the way he has positioned his team. They have a strong spine to them with Conor Cleary at full back and John Conlon at centre back. Tony Kelly is maintaining his form from last year and it looks like he has found one or two new young players with speed inside to complement Shane O’Donnell. The Galvins are back so there’s a massive array of quality. I said it after the Tipperary game, we’re well forewarned as to what’s coming. If we’re turned over on Sunday, I won’t have any excuses because we know what’s coming and we have to be ready.”
This will be his second sideline battle with Brian Lohan. They crossed paths on the field of play during that Clare-Tipperary rivalry of the late nineties. “A couple of times but I never came out the right side of it! He was a serious player in his day. Everything that was good about that Clare team in the nineties under Ger Loughnane, he was the main driving force as the man anchoring the full back line and his brother Frank as well. A great player and he is bringing all those traits to his team as a manager.”
Listen back to the full interview with Liam Cahill from Friday's Lár Na Páirce Munster Championship Special. Listen to "Munster Championship Special" on Spreaker.
