Derek McGrath expects the Waterford hurlers to have a long summer, starting with a qualifier win over Laois on Saturday in Nowlan Park.
The Déise lost to Clare by four points in the Munster championship but McGrath thinks that Liam Cahill's side can get their season back on track this weekend. "I'm hugely surprised to see Waterford at odds of 25/1 to win an All Ireland and how we've been discounted. I think we'll have a big say in this championship and I expect it to start on Saturday. We've some really good players who didn't play as well as they can the last day. I think we'll be the name on everyone's lips come Saturday evening in terms of a team to avoid. Plus we'll have the momentum, I know people argue you have to win four or five games in a row but I think we'll have serious momentum going into the second round of the qualifiers."
McGrath guided Waterford to an All Ireland final through the backdoor in 2017. "We drew Offaly in the first round of that championship and it was an ideal set-up game for Kilkenny and I think it's a similar path. By Saturday, it could well be a situation where Clare, who beat Waterford, are out of the championship and Waterford are still in the championship. The path can open up. Kilkenny and Dublin, the expectation is that Kilkenny will win and Dublin are available in a quarter final. You've a one-off game to perhaps get into a quarter final against Dublin which is very winnable. While I was in management, I never looked ahead but while I'm out of it, I'm looking ahead!"
He thinks that Waterford will get back to what they're good at. "You want a relentless work ethic out of your team and we've got that over the years from Waterford. When Waterford are at their best, that's what they bring and the hurling comes in as a by-product of that. We all allude to the famous clip last year where a couple of Kilkenny players were bundled out over the line in Croke Park and we said that was symptomatic of what Liam brings. I expect to see that again on Saturday and into the championship. I certainly wouldn't be one for overreacting to what happened against Clare. I think it was a one-off performance. I still point to the form of the league and the matches against Tipperary and Limerick where Waterford were up and at it and in the faces of Tipperary and Limerick."
Listen back to the full interview with Derek McGrath from Friday's Lár Na Páirce.
