Retired Waterford star Dan Shanahan believes Davy Fitzgerald's tactics cost the Deise possible All-Ireland glory this year.

Speaking at the Guinness 'Pace Yourself Training Day' at the RDS yesterday, the Lismore man said that while didn't have a clash of personalities with his manager, they "begged to differ" on tactics.

"I always knew I wouldn't start," he said.

"I know where I stand. It's hard to keep 35 fellas happy in a team and I'm no different when I'm not starting. I wouldn't say there was a personality clash, but we beg to differ on a few things. I found his training extremely good, but I thought when it came to a tactical game - Waterford don't do tactics."

Shanahan backed up his argument by pointing to last Sunday's All-Ireland final.

"How did Tipp win it? They went man to man. When a manager comes in and changes things so that we might stop leaking goals a bit, my view is that if we leak goals, we are good enough to get them as well.

"You're watching the games, lads, Waterford didn't look like getting goals this year. Our style changed completely and he brought that in and when a manager changes your style, we backed that completely. I just didn't think that it was good for Waterford hurling. The manager sat down and studied all the stuff and thought this is the way we can beat teams. Personally, for me, it isn't, it wasn't."

The former Hurler of the Year felt he and fellow veteran Ken McGrath were going well enough to start.

"I'd be the first to admit it if I was going poor in training or going poorly this year by my own standards," he added.

"But I was going fairly well. Myself and Ken McGrath were two of the best forwards who weren't playing on the team, that's just my point of view. But I thought the two of us were going well enough in training for the two of us - or either one of us - to start on the day but it didn't happen.

"(In training) I was on 'Brick' Walsh there and doing okay and he had a great year; I was on Liam Lawlor and he had another great year and I was okay. I was getting the better of them in training sessions so I was going well." Tweet

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