While he may be a Clare man through and through, Davy Fitzgerald will have spent the last couple of weeks plotting the downfall of the county that he devoted most of his life to.
The 52-year old is bonafide Banner legend, spending almost two decades as a player with the county, winning two All-Irelands and three Munster titles along the way. He would then go on to lead them to Liam MacCarthy as manager back in 2013.
Since then, his inter-county management career has seen him move away from his native county. Fitzgerald has had spells with Wexford and a coaching gig with Cork camogie, but his return to Waterford (where he took his first management role prior to his time with Clare) is the first time he has managed in the same province as Clare since his departure back in 2016.
He will face the county this weekend in a huge Munster Championship clash, a game where a loss for either side will put a serious dent in their hopes of advancing from the province.
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Davy Fitzgerald makes honest admission about feelings on Clare split
Davy Fitzgerald has proven to be a controversial figure in Clare in recent years, publicly criticising a number of figures in the county on a few occasions.
Despite this, his fondness for the team remains.
Speaking to the Clare Champion, he admitted that if things had worked out as he had wanted, he would still be the Clare manager. He goes on to say that he has a job to go against them this weekend, labelling Clare as a team who have been good enough to win an All-Ireland over the last few years.
There’s no better feeling than donning the saffron and blue and playing for your family, your club and the people of Clare. It won’t be easy on Sunday but I’ve a job to do and that job is to give 110% for Waterford.
I can’t do it any other way. It’s not in my make-up. In a perfect world, I’d manage Clare forever, but that’s not how things work out and I could never pass on an opportunity to work at the top level of the game and that’s why I’m Waterford manager...
It’s a tough task playing this Clare team. I honestly believe they have the players to win an All-Ireland and I don’t know why that hasn’t happened.
For Waterford, it’s the fifth year trying to get out of the round robin. It’s just about instilling belief in them as we have some real quality hurlers too.
We’ve been working so hard and we’ve tried to explore different ways of playing. We’re unbeaten but we’re still improving and there’s no doubt that we will need to step up another level on Sunday.
The difficult relationship between Davy Fitzgerald and a number of people within Clare hurling would certainly make any return to manage the county a difficult proposition, although it is clear that he still has a fondness for the side.
In saying that, this will all be put to one side this weekend as he seeks to lead Waterford to victory in Ennis.
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