With the confirmation this week that Liam Cahill, Mikey Bevans, and the senior hurling management team are set to remain in situ for the next twelve months; hurling fans in the county are abuzz with the prospects of what's to come for the next year.
Cahill's fellow Tipperary native Liam Sheedy stood down as Tipperary manager earlier this month following the Premier's departure from the Championship at the hands of Cahill's Deise in Pairc Ui Chaoimh. With the hot seat now open in his native county, everybody and their dog thought that Cahill would up sticks and return as the prodigal son; ready to lead Tipp to Liam McCarthy glory once again.
Fears reached fever pitch in Waterford when it was confirmed that the Tipperary county board made a formal offer to Cahill and Bevans to take up the job. At this point, it was all but certain that the two years in Waterford would be just that; two years, a nice memory, and a team that's vastly improved on where it was.
It is believed the approach was made to Cahill last week. https://t.co/tf9DFV6Ig0
— WLR (@wlrfm) August 23, 2021
On Thursday (August 26th) Waterford county board confirmed the news that every Bla wanted to hear - Cahill was staying put.
"Waterford GAA are delighted to announce that Liam Cahill will be continuing as Waterford Senior Hurling Manager for 2022 with an option for a further twelve-month term."
"I feel we have a sense of unfinished business. We made significant progress in the past two years but we feel that there is still more to come from this incredible bunch of players."#WLRsporthttps://t.co/mWZCc2JAWp
— WLR (@wlrfm) August 26, 2021
The following statement from the Ballingarry man expressed a desire to finish off a job that had been started two years ago. He had guided a team to Munster and All-Ireland finals in his first year of Championship hurling with the county - all with covid as the looming spectre over the teams outings.
"Since accepting the Waterford invitation to manage their senior hurling team two years ago the support we have received has been remarkable. The Waterford County Board has been unstinting in its backing for everything we did. The reaction of the players, even when difficult decisions had to be made, was exemplary. Their dedication and loyalty left a deep impression on both of us for whom loyalty is paramount."
"In the circumstances we feel that to step aside now from the Waterford journey would be the wrong decision and for that reason we will be staying with the Waterford Senior hurling team for the coming year."
"Mikey Bevans and I feel we have a sense of unfinished business. We made significant progress in the past two years but we feel that there is still more to come from this incredible bunch of players."
A man who has played an integral part in the backroom is Ballygunner's Stephen Frampton. He was there since the start of Cahill's tenure providing a close eye on players in the county who may have otherwise gone under the radar. The eight-time county champion says that he was in the same boat as everyone else in terms of his knowledge as to whether or not the Tipperary pair would stay or go.
"Yeah, a lot of relief to be quite honest. A lot of people kind of questioned whether Liam and Mikey would stay and were asking me, and really I didn't know either. A lot of relief because I think it's good for Waterford at this present moment in time and good for the group of players for the two lads to continue on what they've started. We've made strides and it's important that you know, a bit of continuation; it helps the team and they're familiar with the guys now as well. So we're not starting from scratch again. So it's good, it's very positive."
"I won't say- it sounds as if we were kind of all waiting on tenterhooks - but that they chose to stay with Waterford, I think it showed great commitment from them. There's a work ethic with the lads and they feel as if there's a little bit of a job that needs to be completed. And that's, that's very satisfying, and I hope that the players will see that as an endorsement of their ability and what the two lads see in the panel's ability."
Having gone from not winning a Championship game in over three years, to ascending to Croke Park for a December All-Ireland final all in the space of one campaign, the renewed confidence in Waterford hurling was a breath of fresh air for fans, who for the time being had to watch from home. The showpiece game with Limerick last Christmas brought people crashing back to earth, but having seen what John Kiely's team have gone on to do this year making it back-to-back titles; little could be done to stop them last year either. Frampton reminds us that this year posed its own challenges. They wouldn't sail in as an unknown quantity with an underdog tag across their chest.
"We were very determined this year. There was a couple of people who mentioned, that you know, we might have a bit of second season syndrome, and we might flop after getting to the All-Ireland final. So we were very determined for that not to happen, and I think we can safely say, apart from the Clare match, which was really, really disappointing - we kind of made up for it, in that we had a few nice wins after that against Galway and Tipp. We're measuring against the top teams, albeit Limerick look as if they're slightly ahead of everybody else really at the moment, but, you know, we're comparable to the rest really at this stage"
For now, there's at least one more year of the "good times" to go with this management team. Limerick remain the standard-bearers, but there's no doubt that the 43-year-old Tipp man has a plan to derail the Treaty train. Speaking to WLR Sport after last year's All-Ireland, when three of his players had won All-Stars, Cahill did not mince words that silverware is what counts for the history books, and Frampton is now speaking in similar themes too.
