Former Waterford all-star John Mullane believes Davy Fitzgerald will bring plenty of energy to the table as the new Déise hurling manager.
The Clare native is back for the second stint in the Déise hot seat after previously managing the county from 2008 (summer 2008) until 2011. During that period, Waterford reached the All-Ireland Final a few months after Davy's arrival, while the Déise's last Provincial title also came under Fitzgerald's reign as Cork were defeated under the Semple Stadium floodlights in the 2010 Munster Final replay. Dan Shanahan struck the winning goal that evening in Thurles.
Fitzgerald is currently in the process of finalising his backroom team and speaking on Monday evening's "On The Ball" programme, John Mullane who won five all-stars in a stellar career says Davy is a solid appointment; "Yeah look it's an interesting one, I suppose there wasn't too many people went for the job, for me he would definitely get my backing. I think the biggest thing for Davy, it's key that he picks up the phone, one fella he probably has to pick up the phone to is probably Tony Browne, I mean we were all scratching our heads asking what went on the last couple of weeks within the round-robin series and probably Tony is the best placed man to tell Davy that".
— Waterford GAA (@WaterfordGAA) August 11, 2022
Mullane told WLR Sport that there's plenty to be positive about heading into next season; "One thing with Davy, it'll be exciting, it'll be interesting and I don't think there's any harm in that you know so I think there's everything to look forward for 2023 under Davy Fitzgerald".
LISTEN: Following a disappointing offering in 2022 Fitzgerald has a job of work to put the Waterford squad back on the right track. 🎧⬇https://t.co/tOAb8Up64f
— WLR (@wlrfm) August 15, 2022
Davy has brought success to every county he's been with since beginning his senior inter-county management career with Waterford in the summer of 2008. The Sixmilebridge clubman delivered an All-Ireland with Clare in 2013 as Cork were defeated after two classic games in Croke Park. Fitzgerald also guided Wexford to a Leinster title, and I'm sure the Waterford fans will be hoping that success trend continues on his return to the Déise.
Davy took in a couple of the local games last weekend as he attended Sunday's double header in Fraher Field as the final round of group games in the Co. SHC took place, and he was also in Walsh Park on Saturday evening for the clash of De La Salle and Passage.
His passion and enthusiasm for the game is second to none and it's important that everyone rows in behind the management team and panel ahead of the 2023 season, it's not going to be easy, particularly the minefield that is the round-robin Munster Championship but no doubt Davy and his management team will relish this challenge and one thing can be sure, no stone will be left unturned and that in itself is exciting.
This weekend sees the first big knockout weekend in the JJ Kavanagh & Sons Co. SHC with two double headers taking place, one on Saturday evening and one on Sunday afternoon (both in Fraher Field) which I'm sure the new Waterford manager will be attending. We'll have updates from all four Preliminary Quarter-Finals across the weekend here on WLR.
Next weekend we see the @JJKavanaghBuses SHC preliminary quarter finals taking place!
Some big games in store 🙌
Fixtures and ticket details below ⬇️
🎟️https://t.co/HffetSRsDu pic.twitter.com/rHPJTLbkGb— Waterford GAA (@WaterfordGAA) August 15, 2022
