League title just a spur to bigger honours

There are various ways of building confidence going into the championship - a training holiday, a little psychology, maybe a new pair of boots - but Donegal and Waterford have the sort of confidence money can't buy.

Winning the national league is still the ideal send-off for a long summer, as both Brian Roper and Séamus Prendergast campaigned in Dublin yesterday.

His role in Donegal's success in the football league, and their first ever title, earned Roper his the Vodafone football player of the month award for April, and Waterford's success in hurling, and a first national title since 1963, earned Prendergast the equivalent honour.

At 32 Roper may have thought his best years were behind him, but the scenes following Donegal's win over Mayo at Croke Park suggest they're not.

"I had played in so many finals, between league and championship, so to win just one is a nice reward," he said. "But I'd hope there's more to come. We know we've won nothing yet in championship form, and that's where the real business starts. Come May 27th against Armagh we'll know if we're good enough.

"But I think since we've come back training there's that bit more spring in the step now. There's still a real hunger there, and I think we're fully equipped to play Armagh this year. It's in our backyard, and that's a massive help. Brian McIver has us preparing for Armagh, and that's all we're thinking about. But the key will be to play them at our own game, which is pace, and skill, so that's really what we're building on."

In case the team bond wasn't strong enough Donegal also spent last weekend at the Breaffy Sports Hotel in Castlebar: "We were doing some specific physical work there, and we've at least another good week of training to do. And we were doing some bonding stuff as well, although I won't tell you about that."

Prendergast's late winner over Kilkenny in the hurling league final created the sort of confidence that is sure to spill over to their Munster championship opener against either Cork or Clare on June 17th, although he insisted Waterford have both feet back on the ground.

"We'd club championship last weekend," he said, "so that brought us straight back down to earth. There wasn't huge excitement, to be honest. Right after the game the fans were excited alright but I think they've calmed down too, maybe expecting even bigger things.

"But we've learnt to win. We'd won two tough games beforehand, so we weren't too worried about Kilkenny. They're a great team, but we knew if we could stay with them we'd have a great chance. And this team has matured fairly well. The few new players coming in have made a big difference. I don't think we've played our best yet."

It's clear what manager Justin McCarthy and the rest of the team want out of the summer: "Justin told us to take a good look at the cup, and realise that we are good enough to win trophies, and hopefully bigger ones in the future. There's only one trophy we haven't won, and that's the All-Ireland. Every player in the country wants to win that one, but especially in Waterford."