By John Harrington

Lee Chin says Wexford will come out all guns blazing against Kilkenny in Saturday’s Walsh Cup Final.

The Slaneysiders won the last two matches they played against their neighbours in 2017 - the League quarter-final and Leinster semi-final - and aren’t in the mood to rest on their laurels.

Kilkenny were ruthless against Wexford for long enough, and Chin is keen to return the favour.

“They’ve given us beatings over the last couple of years. Bad beatings, too,” said Chin today when he attended the Eir Sports launch of their Allianz National Leagues live coverage.

“That’s something that we would have used as motivation, last year, going into play against them. We would have said we’re not going to let that happen today.

“We’re not going to roll over and just die. Just because we got a win over them last year, that doesn’t mean our job is done. We still have to play them three times this year.

“The weekend is the first of the three. We’ll have to go in with the same attitude again. We would have looked at Kilkenny as a huge test for us last year.

“We proved it to ourselves we can definitely compete there and we’ll definitely be going in with that same attitude again.

“It’s a lot to do with not taking your foot off that pedal. It’s about developing that relentlessness, that tenacity in your game that you don’t let up.

“That’s what we’re all about, we won’t give up, no matter how the game is going.

“That’s something Davy (Fitzgerald) has brought massively to us. If we can continue with that relentless attitude, then we’re always going to be there or thereabouts.”

Wexford’s victory in the League quarter-final was their first time to beat Kilkenny in Nowlan Park since 1957, but their victory over the Cats in the Leinster semi-final at Wexford Park was even more significant.

It was their first time to beat Kilkenny in Championship hurling since 2004, and the way they did it made the win all the more satisfying from a Wexford point of view.

When Kilkenny pared an eight-point deficit back to a single point in the second-half after two goals in quick succession it looked like Wexford were in serious trouble.

But then Chin made an inspirational catch from a Mark Fanning puck-out and drove the ball over the bar to give his team a renewed vitality.

That was the moment Wexford refused to be Kilkenny’s whipping boys any longer

“I think it was a big sign,” said Chin. “That word, relentlessness came in there.

“Even though the game wasn’t going for us in that spell, they had their purple patch.

“In the past, we would’ve crumbled in our seasons before that. It was a massive moment for us, in that we showed the character, and we had our heads up and that it didn’t matter and that’s one thing Davy is forever saying to us, that no matter what happens, we’ll just keep going.”

Wexford made significant strides forward as a team last year under Davy Fitzgerald’s management, but Chin is well aware they still have significant room for improvement.

In 2018 they must find a way to marry their defensive solidity with greater firepower at the other end of the field.

“Yeah, I think we need more on the scoreboard, pretty much. I think in that regard scoring is something that you need to improve on; you need to score to win games," said Chin.

“It's probably something that we didn't do in the Leinster final or against Waterford. I think our backs did exceptionally well last year.

“Our forwards probably struggled, a little bit. It was a different set-up that we had to play but we had a whole year to get used to it.

“We got it right on certain days and there were other days that it didn't work out for us with the opposition having one extra back. That's probably something that we'd like to improve on.”