Wexford hurling could be put back a few years if relegated from the Leinster SHC, according to former Waterford player Michael 'Brick' Walsh.
After the giddy heights of provincial silverware four years ago under Davy Fitzgerald, things have dropped to such an extent that the Yellowbellies could find themselves relegated to the Joe McDonagh Cup this weekend.
Sunday’s shock defeat to Westmeath, a game they led by 17 points at one stage in the first half, means should Antrim get the better of Westmeath and Kilkenny leave Chadwicks Wexford Park with a win on Sunday, Darragh Egan’s side will drop down to the second tier for 2024.
If that were to come to pass, Walsh says even if Wexford were to bounce back at the first attempt, there could be other longer-term issues at play.
"It’s difficult," he said. "When you are playing at a lower level, your game slows, it’s a problem.
"When you go down to the next level, it might not be difficult to get back up, but it could put you back a year or two or more, because you can be sure Antrim or Westmeath, it took them a while to get used to the top.
"In fairness to Antrim and Westmeath they’ve done well, but it takes a while to get up to that pace of top tier hurling."
Of course he doesn’t need to look far to see a traditional county struggling, with his native county already out of the Munster championship after three defeats, with little on the line for the Deise this weekend other than salvaging pride against Tipperary.
The loss of Tadhg de Burca to injury in the opening round defeat to Limerick and Callum Lyons’ dismissal against Clare when the game was in the balance were crucial moments in tight margins.
This season is now a write-off, but he’s glass half-full for the future despite a lack of underage success and a dismal record in the Munster round-robin since its introduction in 2018.
"Waterford, even back when I was playing as well, are picking from a small pool of players, there’s no question about it.
"We need our best players on the field, a bit like Wexford. I know I said that about Limerick, but they can bring in a player that’s maybe not of the same calibre, but not far off it either.
"Waterford, Wexford, those teams need their best players to compete with the top teams.
"Obviously there has been a lot of negativity around the place (in Waterford), but those players are still there, they haven’t gone away.
"They will regroup for this weekend and they’ll go at that.
"I think overall for the years going ahead, Waterford will have learned from that and they’ll have to go hard at it again in the winter."
Would a win over the Premier County, themselves looking to book a spot in the Munster final, make any real difference for Fitzgerald and his charges?
"It would show they are able to compete and it gives them confidence going into 2024, that’s what you want. Tipperary probably are in the conversation for the All-Ireland, and while a Waterford win wouldn’t cover over all of the games of the last couple of weeks, it would certainly give a lift to the team and the supporters."
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