Search Results for 'minor manager'

The search for a new hurling manager to succeed Ger Loughnane is coming to a close with eight candidates having been nominated. The task now for the county board chairman Gerry Larkin, hurling board chairman Miko Ryan, and secretary John Fahey, is to start the assessment and interview process before final decisions can be made.

“Just because you were there last year doesn’t mean that it’s going to be easy to get back there again the next year.” Said Mayo minor manager Ray Dempsey earlier this week when speaking to the Mayo Advertiser about his side’s first foray into championship action for 2009. The wily Knockmore man will be taking charge of the Mayo minor side for the third year in a row, the past two years of his tenure have seen wildly contrasting fortunes on the field. 2007 ended almost before it began, eliminated by Roscommon on a forgettable Saturday evening in Hyde Park, followed last year by another so near yet so far story for Mayo football when his side came with in seconds of claiming an All Ireland title.

It is most unusual in any game to have a situation where almost all of the 15 starting players are absolutely disgusted with their own personal performance. However that happened last Sunday when the Galway minors got a right trimming from their Mayo counterparts.

After the bitter frustration and disappointment of last year’s defeat in the All Ireland final to Kilkenny, Mattie Murphy and his minor charges head up the road again to Croke Park hoping to collect the 2009 title and gain some measure of revenge for that sickening loss.

Kilkenny beat Galway by two points in last year's final, while Galway's sole win against the black-and-amber in a final was in 2004 when they won a replay. Kilkenny’s Minor hurling manager Richie Mulrooney spoke to the Kilkenny Advertiser about his side’s chances this weekend. “ We are quietly confident of our chances this weekend, we have performed well all year and won’t give up.” With injuries a major worry for most managers Mulrooney is no different. “We are down our star fullback Willie Phelan who has a broken collarbone” he said. “We have replaced him with Danny Kenny and he will do the job very well”, added Mulrooney. Picking the team wont be difficult for the minor manager and his backroom team. “It’s not hard choosing the team. The top 15 for the day will be chosen because at that time they are the best in their positions but the guys not chosen will be disappointed and they should be,” said Mulrooney. Before the minors enter the fray on Sunday Mulrooney will have many words of wisdom for them. “ I will tell them to take the game to their opponents rather than the other way around. To never give up even if they are in control. I will remind them to remain focused at all times.”

After the bitter frustration and disappointment of last year’s narrow defeat in the All-Ireland final to Kilkenny, Galway minor manager Mattie Murphy and his minor charges head to Croke Park this Sunday hoping to collect the 2009 title and gain a measure of revenge for last year’s defeat.

“You’ve got to dance with the ladies that are in the hall, as they say,” is Ciaran McBrien’s outlook as he thinks about the injuries he has to deal with ahead of this Sunday’s refixed Connacht club final against Corofin. The Charlestown manager already knew that he would be without the influence and experience of David Tiernan for this final due to injury, and star forward Richie Haran was going to be another major doubt for the game last weekend with a broken bone in his hand. The extra week has given Haran some more time to recover, but McBrien does not know if it is going to be enough. “It’s one of the hardest breaks to heal we’ve been told, they reckon it will be a six to eight week injury whichever way you look at it, but we hope he’s able to make it in some form.”

Ballintubber man Tony Duffy was handed the job of Mayo minor manager for 2010 at the county board meeting this week. County secretary Seán Feeney told the delegates at the meeting: “I would like to thank the other candidates for their interest in the position, it was a tough decision, but we feel that we have picked the strongest possible team for the job.” Feeney also confirmed that Duffy’s appointment was for an initial period of one year. The other candidates for the post were Louisburgh’s Pádraic Walsh, Donal Touhy from Bonniconlon, and Westport’s George Golden, to whom Feeney apologised to for finding out they did not get the job through the press, saying “it was supposed to be kept confidential.”