Waterford manager Tom McGlinchey.
By Cian O'Connell
In the early weeks of the Allianz Football League Waterford’s quietly effective start was noteworthy.
Victories over London and Wicklow offered Waterford encouragement and though last weekend’s narrow loss to Wexford was a blow, the Deise remain hopeful ahead of their remaining four matches in the competition.
Promotion favourites Westmeath are next on the agenda at Fraher Field with well respected manager Tom McGlinchey delighted that League tests arrive thick and fast. “The first two games were very pleasing to win, but we were brought back down to earth with a bang against Wexford even though there was only two points in it,” McGlinchey says.
“You can talk about missing scoring chances and we let them in for a goal, but the reality is we lost the game by two points. I felt that we should have taken something from it.
“That is the beauty of the League, it is behind us now, we have to get on with it, to get ready for Westmeath next Sunday, another huge game for us.”
February, March, and April matter deeply to Waterford according to former Tipperary boss McGlinchey when asked to compare the current demands to when he was in charge of the Premier County. “People often say Division Four and it is only the League to be putting in so much of an effort, but Division Three and Four teams take the League so seriously now even compared to 15 years ago.
“The League is so important. For teams in the lower Divisions it is all about getting promoted, getting out of those Divisions to improve yourself. You still have the same pressures, the same time commitment from the players and management, I'm enjoying it immensely.”
McGlinchey is a firm believer in the value of the League, especially for a team such as Waterford, whose mission is simply to improve. All Ireland or Munster titles aren’t how a campaign will be measured.
“I've said it consistently for the last number of years that the League is the fairest and most competitive competition that the GAA are running at the moment,” is McGlinchey’s assessment.
Tom McGlinchey is encouraged by the form Waterford are showing in the Allianz Football League.
“When you look at the four Divisions there isn't many points between all the teams regarding points on the board and in the matches.
“I know you might get some matches where one team wins by a margin, but then you could turn around to see that team could have a victory the next week like we saw with Down in Division Two, like we saw with Antrim in Division Three. You see it in Division One where Monaghan go down to Kerry and get a victory against the odds.
“Mayo were beaten in the first game and everyone is saying they are going to have it hard, then they win their next two games. You can never tell, that is the beauty of the League and what makes it so fascinating across the four Divisions.
“It is a product that is there, it should be encouraged in the GAA. You can see the crowds that are coming out because the games are so competitive. That is why they come to the games even at this time of the year.”
How much progress have Waterford made? “It is early stages yet, we won't really know until after the last round of games,” is McGlinchey’s verdict.
“At the moment we've only three games gone, we've won two and lost one. We are very pleased to win our first two games this year, games we lost last year by a point. The last two years are gone now, we feel we are progressing.
“We have a lot of new players in on the panel this year, they are adapting to life as an inter-county footballer.
“We are constantly adapting and evolving, we are relatively pleased with how the first two games went. We were disappointed with the Wexford game, but everything is now focused on Westmeath next Sunday.
“Their application to what we ask them to do is second to none. All they want to do is to get better, and I'm delighted with the response I'm getting.”
