John Mullane will be holidaying in Spain when Waterford face Clare in the Munster SHC on June 2.

The De La Salle clubman, who announced his inter-county retirement at the start of the year, says it would be too difficult for him to watch the game from the stands in Semple Stadium after giving the last 12 years of his life to the blue and white jersey.

He told the Irish Examiner: "In 2013, I plan on doing a lot of stuff that I haven't done for nearly 12 years. I'm off to the Champions League final and am heading for Spain the weekend of the Clare/Waterford championship game.

"I've decided I don't want to be around for that, the first game, as that would be too hard. What I'd find difficult is waking up that morning and not being on the bus with the lads for the first time in 12 or 13 years. I've taken the decision to go away for that week.

"Once the first championship game is out of the way, I can go back to supporting the lads the rest of the way."

Mullane, who will part of RTE's championship coverage this summer, admits he's struggling to get used to being a spectator.

"I've found it hard to be a spectator. The first game was the league up in Clare, that was difficult. Not being a part of it was strange, being back among the crowd, trying to get a feel for what goes on outside the wire.

"When you're on the field, you're out of touch with that." Tweet

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