"I want them to be enthusiastic and optimistic but let's be realistic. I'm not going to just turn this around like that. Let's see at the end of two years where I am. If I have made an improvement and we are really up there or thereabouts then fine. But I don't expect anything in the short term. You're not just going to flick a wand like that."

Davy Fitzgerald called for patience following Wexford's 5-31 to 1-8 Walsh Cup success over UCD.

"Yeah, look, happy enough. A few weeks' pre-season done so it was just nice to get back into the routine of games. We're well aware that they were depleted but it's just good to get up and running and a good win."

Galway manager Micheal Donoghue fielded 10 debutants in their routine Walsh Cup victory over DIT in Ballinasloe.

"The response has been great from the lads, but we've a lot to find out about ourselves that we don't, and probably won't, know for a while. Inevitably, you've to go through the process of playing these matches to learn."

John Kiely enjoyed a winning start as Limerick senior hurling manager against Waterford.

"We feel there might be a change to the league in 2018, so that might dictate our whole approach to it - we're putting that out there early. We're heading away to Liverpool next weekend and that's probably a month later than we went last year."

The league is not a priority for Derek McGrath and the Deise in 2017.

"There were aspects that we were very pleased with, but aspects that we were definitely not pleased with. We've an awful lot of work to do. We weren't happy with what we did in the first half, okay there was a bit of a breeze there, but we got a lot right in the second half and we ran out convincing winners, which is what you'd expect."

Cork boss Kieran Kingston was relatively happy following their 1-28 to 0-18 defeat of Kerry.

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