It's been a good year for Lee Chin. A Leinster hurling champion, the Wexford native was named at right-half forward on the PWC GAA / GPA All-Stars team.
The Yellowbellies ended a 15-year wait for silverware when they took the Bob O'Keeffe cup with a victory over Kilkenny, before narrowly losing the All-Ireland semi-final to Tipperary.
There was uncertainty if manager Davy Fitzgerald would remain on, but Chin says the players made every effort to persuade the Clareman to give it another shot. Fitzgerald ultimately agreed to a new two-year term.
"We honestly thought we'd lost him," said Chin.
"It was a case where the players, we just didn't know what way it was going to go. Us as players, we knew we just needed this man back. There was no other direction we could take, we just had to go bald-headed for this guy.
We stayed in touch with him, we tried to put as much pressure on, but we didn't want to put too much pressure on because we thought it could go the other way as well. We're extremely grateful for the time Davy has given us."
Fitzgerald is a cut above
"The commitment that man puts into Wexford hurling and what he's doing and what he has done with Wexford hurling to date and I know what he'll continue to do, is just outstanding. It's something that I don't think any other manager in the country has possibly done.
I think for hurling, what he's done is just incredible."
Chin also praised Fitzgerald for commuting from the Banner to the Sunny South East.
"There's not many managers in the country that do that and Davy is doing that three to four nights a week. He's never missed a session and he's just so passionate and into it.
I think that's what it is that drives him, that gets him up and down the road is just how much he loves it."
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