Waterford appoint Mcgrath as new hurling manager
The Waterford County Board have confirmed the identity of the county's new senior hurling manager tonight and as widely anticipated, Derek McGrath has got the job.
McGrath guided De La Salle to the Waterford SHC title last year and emerged as the favourite to take on the Déise role, which has been vacant since Michael Ryan resigned in August following a vote where the majority of the players did not want him to continue.
Peter Queally, who led Passage to their first county Championship 10 days ago, had also been heavily in the running to be Ryan's successor.
But it seems that the selection committee - headed up by Waterford Chairman Tom Cunningham and including former players Stephen Frampton and James Murray - were more impressed with McGrath as a candidate and his high calibre backroom team.
McGrath has been ratified for a three-year managerial term tonight following a meeting of the Waterford County Board.
He will have three selectors working with him, the most notable of which is 2007 Hurler of the Year Dan Shanahan - a four-time Munster SHC winner during his playing days with Waterford.
While Shanahan is lacking in coaching and managerial experience, McGrath's two other selectors are very astute additions.
McGrath's assistant manager will be William Maher, who managed the Tipperary minors to All-Ireland glory in 2012, and Frank Flannery, the ex-Cork IT Fitzgibbon Cup coach who was involved with the Cork minors this year, will be the new Déise coach.
