Down manager Jim McCorry steps down after only one season in charge

Down football manager Jim McCorry has stepped down after just one year in charge of the county's footballers.

A statement from the county board last night confirmed the news but added that it had been the manager’s own decision as he had been reassured “100 per cent” that he had the support of both the board and the clubs in the county.

McCorry led Down back to Division One in this year's league but the championship proved a disappointment with defeat by Derry in the Ulster championship followed by a surprise elimination in the qualifiers by Wexford.

Coincidentally, John Evans last week stepped down as manager of Roscommon, which means that both of the newcomers to next season's Division One will have new management teams in place.

Meanwhile, Kerry manager Éamonn Fitzmaurice has said that he doesn’t believe that controversy about Tiernan McCann’s dive against Monaghan will affect Tyrone in Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final.

“I don’t think it will have a negative effect. I think they will harness it and use that ‘the whole world is against us’ kind of thing. They have an experienced manager and they have been around the block a lot of them a good few times.

“They have seen how it works so it’s not going to be about anything that is going on outside the camp; it’s about what is happening on the pitch. Anything else is irrelevant really.

“I was very impressed with them. They have been very impressive in their qualifier run but I think if you go back farther, even though they were relegated in the league they played particularly well against the bigger teams.

Snuffed out

“In the qualifiers they have improved from game to game. They were impressive the last day, they completely snuffed Monaghan out and they are in the All-Ireland semi-final on merit. They will be a tough nut for us to crack.”

He also recalled the tightness of the counties’ league match, which ended in a draw and saw Tyrone relegated.

“It was a tough game, they hit the post towards the end and it was one of those games where another point and we could have been in a league semi-final and a point less, we could have been relegated.”