Waterford football captain Conor Murray believes that competitions like the Tailteann Cup are “a step in the right direction”.

The Deise men are set to face Wicklow in the inaugural competition’s preliminary round on Saturday in Aughrim (3pm), where Murray will be hoping he and his team mates can put in a performance to extend their summer.

Speaking to GAA.ie, the Rathgormack clubman spoke of the merits of the competition for a county like Waterford.

“Of course, everyone would love win a Sam Maguire and an All-Ireland but that's not realistic for most teams in Ireland. So a competition like this is a step in the right direction.

“You're guaranteed to be playing someone at your level. When you go into a Qualifier draw you could get anyone. You could get a Division 2 team and you're really up against it and it's hard to get lads to buy in.

“That’s the big problem we've had the last few years, player turnover. It's been really hard to keep the same squad together. Every year you're back to square one.

“When Ephie Fitzgerald came in at the start of the year himself and Peter (Leahy) put a big emphasis on the fact that this isn't a one year job, it's a two or three year process.

“So if it doesn't work out next week against Wicklow, that's fine, we'll go again and we'll start straight away building for next year. It's a two or three year process and this is part of the journey. Hopefully we can put in a good performance.”

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