Wade’s focus solely on retaining county championship

Four Roads manager Kerril Wade insists that his side will not be overlooking any challengers as they attempt to retain the Mickey Cunniffe Cup.

Despite swatting aside every side in their path last year, Wade vowed that his players wouldn’t be getting ahead of themselves by looking at any potential matches in the Connacht club intermediate hurling championship later this year.

The Tisrara side’s disappointing showing against Tooreen saw 2023 end on a sour note, given that they had high hopes of competing against a side that ended their championship ambitions 12 months earlier.

However, Wade, a former All-Ireland minor and U-21 winner with Galway, pointed out that while a three-in-a-row of county titles and earning another crack at a provincial run would be sweet, his side can ill afford to possess such thoughts.

“It would be a great achievement (to win three-in-a-row). We are working on our gameplans and our processes, so there will be absolutely no complacency. It is one game at a time and that will be set in stone.

“Hurling is hurling. On any given day anything can happen. Nobody has a divine right to go out and win any game. You have to earn absolutely everything you get. We will be ready for every challenge, and we will treat every team we meet with the utmost respect,” stated Wade.

The former Galway hurler is in his first year at the helm, having taken over from Shane Curley. He admitted that his time thus far with Four Roads has been a learning curve, but the Sarsfields man has been impressed with the standard on show.

“Four Roads is a very proud club. It was great to find my feet during the junior championship and see what Roscommon hurling was about. We tried to win the junior championship but lost the semi-final to Roscommon Gaels. That was a cracking game in Lisnamult and we were able to blood a load of young fellas, so hopefully that will stand to them.

“We would have hurled against the likes of Athleague, Four Roads and Pearses when I was playing with Sarsfields in challenge matches. They would always give you a good tough game.

“The standard is brilliant in Roscommon. The only one thing is for players to believe. Hurlers in Roscommon are good enough. I would be saying go out and back yourself. We will be filling them with as much belief as possible this year,” he noted.