Waterford hurling boss Derek McGrath has admitted that his panel needed a "shake-up".

His comments come during a time of great change in Waterford, with stalwarts Seamus Prendergast, Shane Walsh and Stephen Molumphy all having announced their retirements in the past week and Liam Lawlor, Jamie Nagle, Richie Foley, Ray Barry, Stephen Roche and Killian Fitzgerald having been replaced by six of last year's All-Ireland minor winning squad.

"We'll be able to put our own stamp on it now," McGrath told The Irish Times.

"Last year's squad was inherited and it would always have been on our mind - without thinking of any specific individuals - that we would need to go down this route. But the decisions while calculated weren't made without emotion either and were difficult.

"The whole idea that you have ruthless managers getting rid of lots of players is untrue. You have to think about players and their families getting upset when they're left off panels.

"The players who are leaving owe us nothing in terms of their dedication and they have reasonable cause to feel aggrieved for not being involved but we believe that the whole thing needs a shake-up."

The De La Salle clubman, who is entering his second season in charge, added: "The counter argument is that if you keep older players around it can help the performance levels of the newer ones but we feel over the course of the next two years that by blooding lads they'll be ready to be competitive that bit earlier."

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