"Waterford is a special county with special people. People defined by their resilience, their authenticity and their creativity. I thank the Waterford people for recognising these traits within this team and uniting behind them over the last five years."
The De La Salle native won the Allianz Division One title with the county in 2015, and lost last year's All-Ireland final to Galway by three points.
Waterford also reached the 2015 and 2016 Munster finals during his tenure, both of which they lost to Tipperary.
I’m absolutely gutted that Derek McGrath who has done so much for this county, myself on a personal level and anyone who has dealt with him is stepping away!! The amount of work he has put in that nobody realises is incredible! He will sorely missed by this whole team!! #GachLá!! — AussieGleeson (@AussieGleeson) June 18, 2018
However, it has been a difficult campaign for the Déise.
Waterford managed just one point in the Munster Championship, but were extremely unlucky with injuries and decisions across their four matches.
They looked set to beat Tipperary in a thrilling encounter, but came out on the wrong end of a shocking decision after Austin Gleeson was incorrectly judged to have carried the sliotar over his own line in the second half.
"Finally, I wish to thank and pay tribute to an incredible bunch of players that I have had the honour to manage over this five-year period," his statement continued.
"The joy, the tears, the sense of camaraderie and the memories shared will stay with me forever. "Embarking on this journey with a group of young players we aimed to cultivate a culture of honesty, integrity and pride every time we represented our beloved county. Witnessing your growth and watching you represent Waterford on and off the field with the unity of a tight-knit family filled us all with immense pride. "Whilst we committed ourselves to be the best we could be as a management, we also challenged you to be the most diligent team ever to represent Waterford and you responded by giving everything you had every day, which became our team motto - GACH RUD. GACH LÁ. "This team will be forever ingrained in my heart. Returning to family and school life, I hope to learn from the values and principles that you stand for. I look forward to applying these learnings into the future in differing capacities. "GAN STAONADH LE CHÉILE. GACH RUD. GACH LÁ. "Thanks lads, "Derek."
Comments