Wexford hurler Conor McDonald admits expectations are high in the county after a breakthrough campaign last year.
The Slaneysiders shocked then All-Ireland champions Clare after a replay in the qualifiers and went on to beat Waterford before exiting at the quarter-final stage to Limerick.
McDonald, who was nominated for an All Star and the Young Hurler of the Year award for his scoring exploits, says the pressure is now on to back up that success, starting with Sunday's Leinster SHC quarter-final against Westmeath.
"Every day we go out we're trying to prove ourselves that extra bit more because we know the potential that we reached last year," he told RTÉ Sport.
"It's no longer good enough to dwell on that and we just have to push on now.
"There will be an expectation there because we did so well last year and hopefully we can build on that. That's the prime focus for now.
"The Wexford people will be out in force again I'm sure and they'll have that extra bit of desire and hope this year to push on."
"There will be an expectation there because we did so well last year" - Conor McDonald
Wexford haven't won a Leinster title since 2004, or reached a final since 2008, but the Naomh Éanna man is confident they can now compete with the province's big guns once again - including Kilkenny, winners of eight of the last ten Bob O'Keeffe Cups.
"I feel that anybody can beat anybody now and that’s been shown over the last couple of years," he said.
"On their day, the underdog is no longer the big underdog, he’s the couple-of-points underdog.
"Having no fear of any team but respecting their qualities is very important. Hopefully we can topple them [Kilkenny], although it will be a tough task.
Despite making his championship debut in the closing minutes of the 2013 qualifier defeat to Clare, McDonald is still just 19 years old and is a star of the Wexford under 21 team aiming to secure their third Leinster title in a row this season.
"It [2014] was my first year being involved completely, in both set-ups, and it was a great year to be your first year," he said.
"It was something dreams were made of. In a way, you were thinking 'Maybe this could happen every year', but it'll only happen if we make it happen and hopefully we can drive on again."
McDonald said it was obvious how last summer's success had lifted spirits among hurling fans in the county.
"It was a whirlwind time but it was brilliant," he said. "I was doing summer camps at the time and there were maybe five lads that were on the senior panel and U21 panel in just one camp that I was in.
"They [the kids] were listening to you an awful lot more than they probably would have two weeks beforehand.
"That's kind of carried through as well and hopefully this year or next year we'll be able to bring a bit of silverware around to the different camps."
