INCOMING WEXFORD BOSS Davy Fitzgerald has spoken about the sense of relief he felt after stepping down as Clare manager last month.<\/p>\n
Fitzgerald\u2019s five-year spell in charge of the Banner came to an end before he was quickly snapped up by Wexford. The 45-year-old agreed on a three-year term in charge of Wexford, with a review to come after two years.<\/p>\n
In a revealing interview with RT\u00c9 Sport, Fitzgerald spoke about the series of events which led to his Clare departure. He was adament the majority of the squad wanted him to remain in charge of his home county.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe players are getting a lot of stick in Clare that they don\u2019t deserve. 95, to 96 or 97% of them players I would die for.\u00a0Maybe one or two of them have lost their ways a small bit. Or maybe their dads have, but apart from that, them Clare players are great lads.<\/p>\n
\nThey didn\u2019t organise anything against me. I more or less told them after the Galway game\u2026like if you were in the dressing room you would know that I knew I nearly had enough.<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\u201cI asked them to see would they like a change of voice, that\u2019s exactly the words I put to in their mouths.\u201d<\/p>\n
He voiced his disbelief at the criticism he received, especially when it came from within the county.<\/p>\n
\nAdvertisement<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\u201cI was more relieved to get out of Clare,\u201d the three-time All-Star said. \u201cI had fellas I played with cutting the back off me for three years. I haven\u2019t seen too many of them coaching anyone to win anything.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no real logic behind any of it because they can\u2019t stand up and say they have done anything themselves.<\/p>\n
\nI remember going home [after leaving Clare] and saying, \u2018I don\u2019t have to listen to that anymore\u2019.\u00a0The way I felt treated, and probably betrayed by some of them, was unreal, but that\u2019s the way it is and it is over.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\u201cThe [playing] style is based on the players you have.\u00a0What I was dealt with was mainly a bunch of 20, 21 year-olds \u00a0and you had to make sure you were covered in all angles.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had to make sure the systems you were playing suited them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI look back on it with no regrets and I\u2019m happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Having stepped aside, his initial plan was to take a year off but Wexford chairman\u00a0Diarmuid Devereux had other ideas.\u00a0Next year will be his tenth straight season as an inter-county manager.<\/p>\n
He says he met\u00a0Devereux\u00a0\u201dout of courtesy\u201d but was impressed with his passion and refusal to accept no for an answer.<\/p>\n
\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t need to do this. I don\u2019t need to do this from a hurling point of view, or to prove anything.\u00a0I don\u2019t need to do it for a money point of view, I\u2019m okay myself expenses-wise.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just their desire.\u00a0I said, \u2018Okay, we\u2019ll give it two years.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
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