Derek McGrath said yesterday that the rumours linking him to the position as Dublin’s director of hurling were not just exaggerated but also untrue.
The Waterford manager is the second longest-serving coach in senior inter-county hurling and said he was aware of the suggestion that he had been offered a €150,000 salary to succeed Ger Cunningham, who resigned last month.
“The tightness of our group can allow other people to engage in rumour-mongering
McGrath rubbished this and also revealed details of a private message that Austin Gleeson, who was sub-stituted against Cork in the Munster SHC quarter-final, sent to him.
“The lads know my position,” McGrath said. “There are certain things you don’t leave out in terms of the relationship you have with players, so they were actually just laughing at the rumour. Austin said to me then, ‘I’ll tell you a better one. The Tuesday after the Cork game, myself and yourself were supposedly in fisticuffs in Walsh Park, killing each other and, on the Thursday night, Philip and Pauric Mahony had a massive row and Philip supposedly hit me’.
“These things became part of the perception on the street. Austin had actually texted me on the Monday after the Cork game, a really, really emotive text, saying that he would never let me down again on the field, hand on heart.
Advertisement
“So, sometimes, I think what can happen is the tightness of our group can allow other people to engage in rumour-mongering.
“I don’t know why that [tightness] could irritate people, when a group can be as tight as we are. I think people will go down the easy route, which is to put out an absolutely vicious rumour.”
In the interview with WLR’s Deise Today programme, McGrath, a secondary school teacher, categorically denied that he was interested in taking over Dublin.
“I can assure you now the only thing I’ll be in Dublin for next year is I’ll be on the TY [transition year] trip to Dundrum at Christmas to go ice-skating or possibly to visit the zoo,” McGrath said.
Waterford play Cork in Sunday week’s All-Ireland semi-final.