Waterford's Ken McGrath was the toughest opponent JJ Delaney came up against during his glittering inter-county career.

Speaking to RTE's Drivetime programme, the retiring nine-time All-Ireland winner revealed his admiration for the Deise great.

"Ken McGrath was the toughest player I came up against and he was very similar to Tommy Walsh in that he could play in the backs and forwards.

"There's not many can do that."

And the feeling is mutual ...

@jjdel82 best of luck jj best defender of all time

- Ken McGrath (@kenmcgrath78) December 5, 2014

The 32-year-old Fenians clubman explained his reasons for hanging up his hurling and revealed he had made his mind up that 2014 would be his swansong following last year's All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to Cork.

"The last couple of days, I've just had it on my mind, I just wanted to get it out in the open and now it's a weight off my shoulders.

"It was this time last year I made the decision to give it one more push and see how it worked out.

"Whatever happened, I wanted to give myself the chance to have one final shot. I wasn't happy with how it finished up last year but, if we'd been bet earlier, I'd still have left.

"I didn't tell anyone apart from Aisling my girlfriend."

Delaney bows out on a high following the All-Ireland final replayed victory over Tipperary and he added: "It made me enjoy every moment. I took the whole year in and embraced everything throughout the year.

"And this year was one of the best, knowing the finish line was in front of me every time but, every time we won it moved one match ahead."

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