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Replying To countyman2022: "As was saying a month ago." A man in the know u certainly are
YellowShadeOfPurple (Wexford) - Posts: 85 - 16/07/2026 22:44:54
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Best of luck to Derek Mcgrath. Big amount of work ahead of him.
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 20282 - 16/07/2026 22:49:43
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Replying To Viking66: "I think we might know in the next 2 or 3 weeks. Apart from that everything else is just rumours." Did you mean in the next 2-3 days?
Don't think Wexford will suit McGrath and vice-versa! But I've been wrong before!
foreveryoung (USA) - Posts: 2606 - 16/07/2026 23:27:59
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Indo saying Joe Fortune, James Quirke, and Dee O'Keeffe expected to be part of Derek's backroom team?
ElGranSenor (Wexford) - Posts: 1439 - 17/07/2026 07:54:39
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Replying To foreveryoung: "Did you mean in the next 2-3 days?
Don't think Wexford will suit McGrath and vice-versa! But I've been wrong before!" Any particular reason?
countyman2022 (Wexford) - Posts: 1056 - 17/07/2026 09:29:23
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Who is the hurling coach?
logger (Wexford) - Posts: 338 - 17/07/2026 09:37:33
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Nothing more to say other than to wish Derek McGrath and his backroom team the best of luck with the year ahead. I hope we can get the best Wexford team on the pitch and maybe we'll find out we're not as far off as we think if we can. I'll be back in Ireland supporting the team next year and hope we can drive on now and potentially challenge for Leinster with 3 home games next year.
We need supporters to get behind Derek and the team because from what I heard not only has the Wexford performances been terrible this year, so too has the support.
He will need time to put his stamp on the team and blood more new players but we need to get behind him as a county.
Beir bua.
StoreysTash (Wexford) - Posts: 2121 - 17/07/2026 09:45:43
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Replying To StoreysTash: "Nothing more to say other than to wish Derek McGrath and his backroom team the best of luck with the year ahead. I hope we can get the best Wexford team on the pitch and maybe we'll find out we're not as far off as we think if we can. I'll be back in Ireland supporting the team next year and hope we can drive on now and potentially challenge for Leinster with 3 home games next year.
We need supporters to get behind Derek and the team because from what I heard not only has the Wexford performances been terrible this year, so too has the support.
He will need time to put his stamp on the team and blood more new players but we need to get behind him as a county.
Beir bua." Best of luck to Derek let's hope its a good fit only time will tell .
On the supporters let's face it times have changed .players and supporters alike .
Very hard to push yourself as a supporter to keep going to games when some of the players turn in some fairly abject performances with no fire in the belly or pride in themselves or that jersey .
I assume most likely myself will support as long as we are alive . But even die hards are wavering at present due to lack of pride and effort from some on the team /panel .
Let's hope Derek can instill pride and effort in themselves and the jersey first, before we think about any sort of success .
Formertownie (Wexford) - Posts: 632 - 17/07/2026 11:00:44
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Best of luck to Derek. First job get everyone possible back in to player for wexford.
hunting (Wexford) - Posts: 1231 - 17/07/2026 11:16:55
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Replying To StoreysTash: "Nothing more to say other than to wish Derek McGrath and his backroom team the best of luck with the year ahead. I hope we can get the best Wexford team on the pitch and maybe we'll find out we're not as far off as we think if we can. I'll be back in Ireland supporting the team next year and hope we can drive on now and potentially challenge for Leinster with 3 home games next year.
We need supporters to get behind Derek and the team because from what I heard not only has the Wexford performances been terrible this year, so too has the support.
He will need time to put his stamp on the team and blood more new players but we need to get behind him as a county.
Beir bua." Lads will want to be in his set up I think.
I'm happy with the appointment.
I know he's conservative but he's had success.
Doylerwex (Wexford) - Posts: 4610 - 17/07/2026 11:19:04
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Replying To ElGranSenor: "Indo saying Joe Fortune, James Quirke, and Dee O'Keeffe expected to be part of Derek's backroom team?" I would be delighted if that's the case excellent men to have involved
Afinestick96 (Wexford) - Posts: 1112 - 17/07/2026 11:19:04
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Replying To Afinestick96: "Derek McGrath is officially our new manager . Hopefully he can get a good back room team in place . He proved with Waterford he is a top manager and I really hope he can bring us on loads in the next 3 years" I don't see any reason why we won't improve significantly in the first year.
Doylerwex (Wexford) - Posts: 4610 - 17/07/2026 11:21:09
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Replying To ElGranSenor: "Indo saying Joe Fortune, James Quirke, and Dee O'Keeffe expected to be part of Derek's backroom team?" Think they got their wires crossed
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 20282 - 17/07/2026 11:46:09
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Like most on here I would welcome Dereck Mc Grath as our new manager.
He got Waterford to an all Ireland final in 2017 and won the Limerick final with Dune a few years ago.
He's a very passionate hurling man and having been with the Harriers last year will know the local scene pretty well.
Most important for him is to get us to become more competive and to improve on our intensity.
He most likely will concentrate on our defence
and employ a sweeper. I believe that is the right way to go as let's face it our defensive structure has been our downfall for years now.
Will be interesting to see who will be our Head coach. That will be vital going forward.
Will he get more lads from the u2os commiting? and I'm sure he will be keeping a close eye on our county championships.
Probably he's the best man for the tough road ahead based on his enthusiasm and experience.
Magpie2 (Wexford) - Posts: 728 - 17/07/2026 12:42:00
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I'm happy enough with the appointment and wish Derek McGrath every success. Like every Wexford supporter, my main hope is that he gets the best players on the pitch, builds competition for places, and gets the county moving in the right direction again.
Looking at his record, it's hard to argue that he doesn't have the credentials.
Senior inter-county management
Waterford (2014-2018)
McGrath took over Waterford after the 2013 season and managed them for five years.
Record
National Hurling League champions: 2015
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship runners-up: 2017
Munster Championship runners-up: 2015 and 2017
Qualified for the All-Ireland series every year he was in charge.
Major achievements
Guided Waterford to their first National League title since 2007, defeating Cork in the 2015 final.
Reached the 2017 All-Ireland final, where Waterford lost to Galway.
Revitalised a relatively young squad following the retirement of several county legends.
Developed players including Austin Gleeson (Young Hurler of the Year), Jamie Barron, Stephen Bennett, Tadhg de Búrca and others into established inter-county stars.
Tactical reputation
McGrath became closely associated with a disciplined defensive system that featured:
A sweeper in front of the full-back line.
Excellent work rate from forwards tracking back.
Patient build-up play.
Strong emphasis on fitness and organisation.
Supporters were divided:
Many admired how competitive he made Waterford against stronger teams.
Others criticised the style as overly defensive and cautious.
Regardless of opinion, his teams were consistently difficult to beat.
Club and schools success
Before managing Waterford, McGrath had already established an outstanding coaching record.
De La Salle College
2× Dr Harty Cup winners (2007, 2008)
2× Croke Cup (All-Ireland Colleges) winners (2007, 2008)
De La Salle GAA Club
Waterford Senior Hurling Championship winners (2012).
Doon (Limerick)
Guided Doon to their first-ever Limerick Senior Hurling Championship in 2024, one of the biggest achievements in the club's history
Per-Ignem (Wexford) - Posts: 1 - 17/07/2026 12:45:44
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I've come around on Derek McGrath tbh, was initially against him when I heard the rumours about a month ago but while he will play a sweeper system, we have had a soft spine ever since Paudie Foley stopped playing so a sweeper might actually suit us, teams usually drop their #6 back anyway so it's not as if the way Limerick and Galway play is that far away from being a sweeper system, there is some degree of overlap between the two
He does have a track record of success, most important thing is that he gets the best hurlers in Wexford hurling for Wexford, will still need to blood in young players during the league but it's a lot easier to blood them in when you don't have to rather than when you have to
I still think there's good young talent in the county (Enough to be competitive in Leinster aside from Galway although Munster is a completely different kettle of fish), problem is we're behind on S&C in that 21-24yo bracket and even when they do fill out, a load of them are around 5'9
Anyway, we just need some sort of boost because there's a lot of negativity in the county, hopefully Derek is the man to give us that shot in the arm
ElGranSenor (Wexford) - Posts: 1439 - 17/07/2026 13:05:32
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Replying To Doylerwex: "Lads will want to be in his set up I think.
I'm happy with the appointment.
I know he's conservative but he's had success." We need conservatism now, any opportunity opposition get to open us up they're doing so with ease, 12 goals conceded in 5 games this year in the round robin.
OpenStandWall (Wexford) - Posts: 369 - 17/07/2026 13:33:29
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Replying To OpenStandWall: "We need conservatism now, any opportunity opposition get to open us up they're doing so with ease, 12 goals conceded in 5 games this year in the round robin." Picking backs in their preferred positions would be a help to start with.
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 20282 - 17/07/2026 14:49:41
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Replying To ElGranSenor: "I've come around on Derek McGrath tbh, was initially against him when I heard the rumours about a month ago but while he will play a sweeper system, we have had a soft spine ever since Paudie Foley stopped playing so a sweeper might actually suit us, teams usually drop their #6 back anyway so it's not as if the way Limerick and Galway play is that far away from being a sweeper system, there is some degree of overlap between the two
He does have a track record of success, most important thing is that he gets the best hurlers in Wexford hurling for Wexford, will still need to blood in young players during the league but it's a lot easier to blood them in when you don't have to rather than when you have to
I still think there's good young talent in the county (Enough to be competitive in Leinster aside from Galway although Munster is a completely different kettle of fish), problem is we're behind on S&C in that 21-24yo bracket and even when they do fill out, a load of them are around 5'9
Anyway, we just need some sort of boost because there's a lot of negativity in the county, hopefully Derek is the man to give us that shot in the arm" As far as I remember Paudie Foley hurled mostly wingback for Wexford.
Dara Kehoe and Richie Lawlor are nearly 6', Conor Foley, Cian Molloy, Eoin Ryan, Eoin Whelan and Jack Redmond are a little over it. We have a few 6' plus lads coming up out of u20 too.
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 20282 - 17/07/2026 15:52:59
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Replying To Viking66: "Think they got their wires crossed" Are you suggesting they might have been the other candidates?
I honestly don't know myself. Anything I heard along the way would have just been the same sort of rumours that everybody else was hearing anyway.
Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 3796 - 17/07/2026 16:23:28
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