Lee Chin pictured at the BEKO Leinster GAA Award Scheme at Croke Park.
By Cian O’Connell
On the eve of the 2018 Leinster Championship, Lee Chin acknowledges the importance of this summer for the Wexford hurlers.
Respect was earned last year by reaching a provincial decider, but now the challenge is to ensure Wexford replicate the same level of performance.
Davy Fitzgerald’s influence in Wexford is deep and Chin admits that several valuable lessons have been learned during his tenure. “It is hugely important to keep building on your success, but it is also very important to learn from your defeats,” Chin says.
“That is definitely something that Davy is probably good at with us. When we lose we gain - that is his motto, I suppose.
“We learn a lot from games we get beaten in, probably more so than from the games we win. The feel good factor and the confidence that goes through a panel when you are on a run, winning games can't be beaten. I'd like to think we learn every day we go out.”
Dublin and All Ireland champions Galway will visit Wexford Park and Chin is relishing the exciting new format. “Of course, obviously when you are playing in Championship when you know you have your home venue it is something special, it is great to be playing in Wexford Park on Championship days,” Chin replies.
“We love the atmosphere that is created down there in Wexford Park for Championship, so do other teams when they are playing in their home places. It is great to be down there, we love to play our games down there.
“You think it is a great advantage, sometimes it can go against you, and you can see the other day with Kilkenny and Tipperary a lot of people would have fancied Tipperary, I did myself, but Nowlan Park - Kilkenny, it is not easy to go there to win.”
Chin has been impressed with how some emerging Wexford youngsters are developing on the inter-county stage. “Yeah, I think it is great,” Chin states.
“We still would generally class ourselves as a young team and to see some of the younger guys again coming in making a big impact like young Rory O'Connor and other guys, who are making a serious difference to us, bringing another dimension to us with their game.
“It was great to see them come in, to deal with the level of pressure that was there with the expectation from last year.”
