Derek McGrath has definitively ruled himself out of the running for the Dublin hurling job, which became vacant after Ger Cunningham left his position last week.
The Waterford man was heavily linked with the job, and had been quoted by bookmakers as the second favourite at 4-1 to take the reigns, behind Galway man Mattie Kenny.
McGrath was appointed as the Waterford manager in 2013, and has overseen a huge upturn in the fortunes of the Déise hurlers.
The De La Salle club man, famed for his tactical approach to the game, lead Waterford to a league title in 2015, their first since 2007, and to three All-Ireland semi-finals in the last three years – they will face Cork on the 13th August, aiming to buck the trend of two lost semi-finals in 2015 and 2016 to Kilkenny.
The rumour mill had been in full flow after Waterford’s loss to Cork in the first round of this year’s Munster Championship, but McGrath has quashed these rumours in truly emphatic fashion.
McGrath has an agreement to remain in charge of his native county until 2019, and his comments on Monday night, when speaking WLR’s ‘Déise Today’ programme, mark his intention to see out this term.
“I can assure you now the only thing I’ll be in Dublin for next year is I’ll be on the TY (transition year) trip to Dundrum at Christmas to go ice-skating and if I’m going to Liffey Valley [with] my wife when she goes on the odd Saturday and that’s the only reason why I’ll be in Dublin next year, or the zoo, which I absolutely love. Other than that… not that I need to do that [explain myself],”he told Eamon Keane.
This will come as a huge relief to Waterford hurling people, who have a strong relationship with McGrath, and admire his honest and thorough approach to management.
He isn’t going anywhere.
