Fitzgerald, who says he did not expect to make an immediate return to intercounty management after leaving Waterford this summer, says he will look up and down the county in preparation, both for players and to assemble his backroom team.

“I’ll look at everything,” he added.

“With me, skill is important, that’s for sure, but there has to be more than that.

“There has to be that absolute fight, that determination, that desire to never give up on the cause.

“There’s a lot of characteristics that I’ll be looking for. I can’t say for sure whether I’ll get something different but we’ll look and explore.”