WATERFORD PREVIEW: 'It is huge for us!' | Improving on 2025, goals for '26 and how the new players can help the Blues
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Off the Ball, GAA. The names you mentioned there, they have a lot of medals and Howard, probably the standout of all of them. But there could be a bit of mind games too by Gerard Brennan in this as well. You can guarantee, we're all asking the question, who's he on about? And you can guarantee the players that are going to be at home going, is he on about me? And when they're turned up to training, probably tonight, maybe there's a bit more umph in him.
Join in the obsession. Subscribe now at offtheball.com forward slash join. John Daly, your debut season now at Watford, fastly approaching, how are you looking forward to it?
I'm really looking forward to it, it's an exciting time, plenty of new players, new faces in the building so looking forward to the season officially starting next week.
Obviously you mentioned those new faces, you've been very busy during this transfer window, how have they been all gelling in?
Yeah, I think we've had to be. I think when we looked at it over the whole, I think 15 players left the club, so we've brought 11 in at the moment, so there's still kind of scope to bring one or two more in, hopefully, but it's obviously very difficult when you bring in that many players to get into jail, but they've been training well, they've been working hard, so I can't really have any complaints at the moment.
Obviously, you'll be looking to avoid what happened last season, getting to a play-off relegation final. How do you go about, I suppose, making sure that you get started on the right foot?
Yeah, I think we've identified defensively the club need to be better and I think the team needs to be better, I should say. So if we can be a bit tighter at the back, we certainly have enough firepower up front and in the attacking areas that we feel we can score goals against most teams.
Defensively, the likes of John Mahon add so much depth to that squad, doesn't it?
Yeah, great experience as well. He's played at a good level, knows the league inside out, so he's looked good in pre-season. We've obviously had to try and manage him, he came in a bit later than some of the other guys. But yeah, he does, he adds real experience and leadership to the back line for us. He's obviously been captain of Sligo as well, which he brings in types of character that he is as well.
What are the ambitions for Waterford in the upcoming season?
So yeah, looking forward to seeing him playing an official game for Watford in the next couple of weeks.
Was it vital for you, I suppose, to fill that gap left by Andy Boyle at the end of last season?
Yeah, I think a lot of defenders left the club and it's something that we've had to rectify and bring in. So bringing in John, Hayden, Khan. We've obviously got young Ronan Mansfield, who's looked a really good prospect as well. So probably need to try and get one more within the next week or so, if we can, before the window shuts. But I think what we have there at the moment, we're healthy to be pleased with.
How much experimentation have you gotten to play around with during the pre-season? I know you had a 1-0 win against Wexford there recently in a pre-season game, but have you had a chance to rotate the squad quite a bit to see what fits you best?
Yeah, I think that's... I'm sure most managers will probably tell you the same, that pre-season is about fitness, about getting the fitness levels up and making sure that everybody's on a level playing field. But yeah, we've played about with different partnerships and different... trying to get different chemistries going with different players. So yeah, I think that's what pre-season is for, but ultimately now it's getting to the business end, the pre-season, that the season starts in a week's time or so.
How are the new players integrating into the Waterford squad?
So it's making sure that we play bows on Friday and then we go into the season starting next week. So trying to make sure we're ready to go come next Friday. No easy start as well. Shelburne, first game of the season. Yeah, fantastic side and they've had a couple of really good seasons. They backed up, obviously, winning the league previous season with a really positive season last year.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–1:51
2
What are the ambitions for Waterford in the upcoming season?
1:51–3:01
3
How are the new players integrating into the Waterford squad?
3:01–5:28
4
What lessons were learned from last season's relegation playoff experience?
5:28–5:48
5
How is the club addressing defensive weaknesses for this season?
5:48–11:59
Speakers
4 identifiedMore from OTB Football
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