Offaly manager Kevin Ryan is possibly the most straight talking of his kind on the circuit at the moment as he admits that avoiding a hammering against his native county is his main priority at the weekend.

The Faithful County suffered a heavy defeat to Galway in the Leinster SHC semi-final and Ryan doesn't want the same fate to happen his players in the All-Ireland SHC qualifiers against Waterford on Saturday afternoon.

Ryan avoids the placid stance of saying what everyone wants to hear and he is pragmatic enough to know that the Deise are a few steps ahead of them at the moment.

"We struggle to get 30 players anytime for an internal match, that's the way it is. With Offaly being where they are, a lot of lads don't want to make the sacrifices that's needed," said Ryan.

"There are a few counties similar to us but the likes of Waterford, Tipperary and Kilkenny certainly don't have that type of problem. It's long-term project for me and we're more or less on course for what we would have aimed for. Not being pessimistic about it but to avoid a slaughtering on Saturday is the objective for us more than anything else."

The sides meet in Bord na Mona O'Connor Park, Tullamore on Saturday. Throw in at 3pm.

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