SEAN CULLINANE IS expected to join Waterford’s backroom team on Monday night, following the resignation of selector Brother Philip Ryan after the Allianz Hurling League win over Galway.
Brother Ryan decided to quit only four days after his colleague Nicky Cashin did likewise, leaving Michael Ryan and the Waterford County Board with two spaces to fill.
Former player Ken McGrath quickly stepped in to replace Cashin and is expected to take one of the vacant positions from Monday’s meeting, with Passage East’s Cullinane line up to take Ryan’s place.
The Déise are currently second from bottom of the AHL Division 1A but their victory over Galway gives them hope of avoiding a relegation play-off, as long as they beat Dublin and the Tribesmen lose to Kilkenny.
“Survival is always a possibility,” the official GAA website quotes manager Michael Ryan as saying.
“While you are in the race it’s never over. We will fight to the very end next Sunday against a very good Dublin team.
“It’s been a tough week but that’s part of inter-county management. You never lose your focus and never lose your belief in yourself and your players. I know there’s a good panel of players out there and we were just waiting for an opportunity where we would have a decent panel of players and everybody in the right frame of mind.
“Coming up here last night I could sense this thing was starting to come together. This is all about hard work, there is no magic formula.”
Sunday’s 1-14 to 0-16 win over Galway was achieved with the returning duo of John Mullane and Eoin Kelly in tow.
Mullane started the match, scored three points and laid on the only goal of the game for Shane Walsh, while Kelly came on as a late sub after his return to the panel last week.
