Counties search for leading lights

With the intercounty calendar now officially in the off-season, attention in many instances has switched to managerial appointments. As of yesterday, Cavan, Longford, Wicklow, Wexford and of course Dublin were still in the process of finalising senior football managers for the new term.

An announcement on the vacant Longford position is expected today and it is almost certain that John Courtney will be the new face. The former Cork player has gathered extensive experience in the past with the likes of Offaly, Kildare and Wicklow as well as numerous clubs and he has been specifically targeted by the Longford county board.

Earlier this month the board voted to adopt a long-term plan rather than give Michael McCormack another year in charge. McCormack had already served four years but requested a further term in charge soon after the county's defeat to Wicklow in the first round of the All-Ireland qualifiers.

But a desire to adopt a long-term plan of three to five years ended McCormack's hopes and the county executive appointed a five-man committee to seek a new manager. Current Allen Gaels manager Denis Connerton was also targeted but the expectation now is that Courtney, the current manager of Sarsfields in Kildare, will be tempted back into intercounty management.

The new appointments in Wicklow and Cavan appear a little further off. Last week it appeared that Wicklow were set to replace Moses Coffey with O'Hanrahan's manager Michael Dempsey but he has since turned down approaches from county board officials.

Dempsey has pledged his short-term future to the Carlow and Leinster club champions, and former Galway footballer Brian Talty is now considered favourite to take the Wicklow job. But the county is still in the process of talking to candidates.

Cavan are also in the process of seeking out a final list of candidates to fill the place of Val Andrews. The Dublin man was offered another term in charge but he was turned off by the apparent lack of support by many of the county's clubs. Though the list appears far from fine-tuned, Talty is also believed to be in the running for this position.

Wexford's position was up for discussion at last night's county board meeting but with no opposing candidates, Ger Halligan was practically assured of another term. He stepped up from selector to manager two years ago and still has the sufficient backing to go forward for another term.

The high-profile race to decide the new Dublin manager will be concluded at the county board meeting of November 5th when the management committee will put their candidate to the club delegates for approval.

With original favourites Brian Mullins and Dr Pat O'Neill now out of the picture, the position appears set to be filled by Tommy Lyons, Val Andrews or Paul Caffrey.

Two other leading counties currently have football managers contemplating their future. Victorious Galway manager John O'Mahony has the full support of the county board but is taking some time to ponder his next move.

"I'll let people know what the plan is as soon as I know it myself," he said this weekend. "But I will have decided before the end of the year holiday, because if I decide not to stay on then I won't be travelling with them."

Meath manager Sean Boylan has still to make his future known to the county board. The position comes up for discussion at the county board meeting of November 12th.