Lee Chin
By John Harrington
Lee Chin insists Wexford’s preparations for Sunday’s Leinster SHC Quarter-Final against Laois have not been hampered by manager Davy Fitzgerald’s suspension.
Fitzgerald isn’t allowed to attend team training sessions so is using video footage to keep an eye on his players and remains influential behind the scenes despite his restricted access.
“Five weeks into it now, you are used to what is going on,” said Chin yesterday at the launch of the Global Games Development Fund in Iveagh House. “The point of contact is there and Davy being Davy, he is still getting the best out of you.
“He is still motivating fellas and driving you on. And it is the same with the backroom team, Davy will be just as hard on those guys as he is with the players. He has them really working hard too.
“I know definitely he is still having his impact, with the contact that he has with the selectors. He is feeding stuff through to them and they are feeding stuff back to him after training.
“And we would obviously have all our training sessions filmed every night so he is getting that feedback too, see himself what is going on.”
Lee Chin
He might not be able to attend training sessions, but Fitzgerald has still managed to keep in close contact with his players in other ways.
“A lot of contact on the mobile, and things like WhatsApp, and that,” said Chin. “In terms of training he’s only there in spirit, so all we can do is be in contact in any way we can.
“I’ve sat down with him on a couple of occasions, met in certain places. In some ways it is difficult, but at the same time Davy is making the most of it, doing what he can.
“We’re happy enough, and his backroom team have picked up the reins, and done a great job so far.”
Wexford will go into the match as hot favourites, but Chin points to Cork’s victory over Tipperary last weekend as proof that any team is capable of beating any other in this Championship.
They’re not taking the Laois challenge lightly, and have studied them in detail to ensure they’re as well prepared as possible.
“Well, look, in some ways, it would open your eyes that anything can happen on a Championship day,” said Chin of Cork’s win over Tipp.
“The preparation that we've had coming into this Laois game has been crazy and that's no joke.
“Since we knew we got Laois two weeks ago, we've been just totally focused on them and totally focused on the first round of the Championship. Not looking anything beyond that, we know that Laois are going to come with a massive, massive fight.
“They'll be very confident playing against Wexford, we know what they're going to do I suppose, from the start of the game. We'll just have to try to counteract that and to bring our game."
