Pat Herbert had originally turned down the Oulart - The Ballagh manager's job.

The former Limerick star, who managed Toomevara to a Munster club title in 2006, told the Wexford kingpins 'no, thanks' but had a change of heart when the players contacted him:

"The players themselves came to me in January after I had already told the club no," Herbert reveals in The Irish Independent.

"So I knew that the motivation and the interest was coming from the players. I could feel it from them when I went down to meet them and all 29 of them were there to meet me.

"They were self-driven, which was great because it meant that we didn't have to start pulling and dragging throughout the months that followed. Once you had that motivation, it was very easy for us to steer the ship."

Oulart are now just 60 minutes away from Leinster glory, with Offaly champions Kilcormac-Killoughey awaiting in Sunday's provincial decider at Nowlan Park.

Reflecting on last weekend's stunning semi-final defeat of Ballyhale Shamrocks, Herbert adds: "There was definitely a challenge there that they were keen to overcome.

"That's a measure of where you're at if you can beat the Kilkenny champions. Lucky enough with these guys, they're able to put the county scene behind them when they come back to us.

"They were a totally different group of players when the county were beaten and we got our whole team back. The whole focus was the club.

"The mental challenge was to prepare for a county championship. That was our primary focus but deep down, the guys wanted the opportunity to come back and redeem themselves from last year - and now they're getting that opportunity." Tweet

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