The onus is on the Waterford players to dig themselves out of the hole they now find themselves in, according to John Mullane.

Writing in today's edition of The Irish Independent, the former Deise star defends manager Derek McGrath from the criticism that has come his way following last Sunday's disappointing Munster SHC semi-final defeat by Cork.

"Right now, the majority of Waterford's players, bar Conor Gleeson, Jamie Barron, Stephen O'Keeffe, who was exceptional, and Pauric Mahony, in the first half, will have to look at themselves in the mirror and ask if they gave an honest effort for a man who's bent over backwards for them," Mullane stated.

"The answer is no. As players, and I've been guilty of this myself, we have a habit of blaming others rather than taking that look in the mirror.

"It's natural, whenever you suffer a defeat.

"When's the last time you saw a player publicly accepting responsibility? The buck stops with the manager and it's a handy get-out clause for players.

"What they need to do now, collectively, is repay Derek by putting their bodies on the line through the back door.

"They asked him to stay on for another year, when he was considering stepping aside, and now it's payback time."

A qualifier clash with Kilkenny could be just was the doctor ordered in Mullane's opinoin.

"Waterford will discover the identity of their round 1 qualifier opponents on Monday morning and drawing Kilkenny is the ideal fixture.

"This would be a game to bring all supporters, whether pro or anti-McGrath, back on board."

Tweet

Most Read Stories