Derek Lyng keen to see Cats bounce back from Clare loss with Leinster Championship in mind

Kilkenny manager Derek Lyng admits next week's clash with Waterford is crucial not just for booking a place in the Allianz League semi-finals, but also on finalising the core of his starting team for the Leinster Championship.

The Cats came out second best against Clare on Sunday, 0-19 to 0-16, in a game that didn’t come to life over the 70 minutes.

TJ Reid was brought into the side for his first taste of action this year – a somewhat earlier start for the 36-year-old than usual.

Speaking to RTÉ Sport, Lyng said: "TJ, with the year he had in the club campaign, played his last match in his county final (last October).

"So it's about getting minutes into fellas as well because Championship is just around the corner.

"It doesn't mean he'll play every league game. Obviously, we just one left now at the minute, which is going to be a big game for us now, so we'll assess that over the next couple of weeks and see how many minutes he plays.

"But he's fighting hard for his place. Everybody else is as well. So it's important to see everybody for the squad.

"It's a very important match in Waterford. It's a huge game for us now. And look, all the time we're building a team, we're still trying to find our best 15 as well, our best panel.

"And look, it's coming to the stage now where we need to be kind of finding out who's going to be there come Championship."

Counterpart Brian Lohan, meanwhile, feels that the league is helping Clare’s progress having sealed a placed in the last four.

He was particularly pleased with their defensive work, keeping the Cats to just 0-07 from play over the game.

Lohan reflected: "Look, I suppose overall I'm happy enough with the league so far. These big games, it may only be the league, but they're big games for