Following their Munster semi-final defeat to Cork in June, Fitzgerald asked the 19 players who saw action that day to come to his house to discuss the game and the way forward from there.

Three months on from that get-together 'chez Davy', Clare are All-Ireland SHC champions thanks to a run of wins over Laois, Wexford, Galway and Limerick and that epic 140-minute final duel with Cork.

As the Clare panel and management waited to bring the Liam MacCarthy Cup home from the capital yesterday, Fitzgerald told journalists just how significant that meeting was.

"I didn't probably feel as bad after the Cork semi-final would you believe. Everyone was down and I asked the boys to come back to my house which was probably different to any manager," he explained.

"I wanted to show them that they're like my family. I said it to them, 'people who are special to me come into my front sitting room and sit down and spend time with me'.

"We spent three hours in my front sitting room that night and we had an unbelievable chat. There was no throwing stones. You would not believe it, the whole of my sitting room, I had the forwards at one end and I had the backs and I got them a bit of paper and said, 'Write down what you think'.

"Then we talked out the points in the sitting room. I was trying to think to myself afterwards, this is unreal."

Asked how many players were involved, the Clare boss replied: "The 19 players that played that day (in the Munster semi-final), I brought them to the room.

"I did it for two reasons, I wanted to find out what was in their heads and I wanted to kill it there and then, and get back on the horse and go again. And I wanted them to see how much they meant to me. It was an unreal experience, even for me.

"I remember going down the street and buying the MiWadi orange and biscuits and all that and having them on the table when they came in and if Joe O'Connor, our sports scientist, knew I did that he'd be cracking with me!"

The Sixmilebridge clubman also spoke about dealing with criticism of Clare's style of play and their persistence with the 'short game' - particularly in the aftermath of that 0-23 to 0-15 loss to Cork at the Gaelic Grounds - and how they used their detractors' disapproval to their advantage.

"The county went a bit mad (after the Munster quarter-final win over Waterford). They all went to Limerick, there was a good Clare crowd there that day.

"I remember (selector) Louis Mulqueen said to me afterwards that this lady came down and threw a (match) programme at him and hit him in the face and said you can take your short game and shove it where the sun don't shine.

"I was walking down after the interviews and I was getting absolutely dogged. The one thing I kept saying to the lads all year, 'don't let that feeling leave you, keep that feeling'.

"I will keep that feeling with me because that's what makes me, always grounds me and brings me back. Listen, a pat on the back and a kick in the arse there is nothing in it. I'm the same person today as I was last week. That’s how I look at it."

Fitzgerald is confident that his largely youthful panel - with captain Pat Donnellan and Brendan Bugler the elder statesmen at 28 - will not lose the run of themselves given the success they have had in recent weeks, as the county celebrates a prized All-Ireland senior and Under-21 double.

"They are good lads. We have a code, if I am in charge next year you will stick by the code, you will not break it. We have principles and I would like to think that we will stick by the principles," insisted the former All-Star goalkeeper.

"After the first All-Ireland (game), I will let them out and enjoy themselves for the night. Every now and again, they are allowed to let the hair down as long as they conduct themselves in a proper manner.

"That is very important to us because they are role models for a lot of kids and I want them to be that way. They are really nice guys and I want to make sure...I'll keep reminding them of the tough days."