Roscommon reckon Declan O’Keeffe will do business

Former double All-Ireland winning Kerry goalkeeper Declan O’Keeffe will add

O’Keeffe, who won All-Ireland titles with Kerry in 1997 and 2000 and also represented

Ireland in the International Rules series, will take over as goalkeeping coach with the

Rossies for the forthcoming season.

Roscommon reached the Connacht SFC final in 2016 but they were hammered 3-16 to 0-14 by Galway in the replay at MacHale Park in Castlebar.

They were beaten 2-12 to 1-9 by Clare in round 4 of the qualifiers before McStay and Fergal O’Donnell’s first year in charge together ended abruptly.

O’Donnell has since quit the joint role and, after having to re-apply for the post as manager, McStay was installed in October.

O’Keeffe will join the Former Mayo county midfielder and Roscommon coach Liam McHale in the backroom team. Former Ireland Youths soccer international David Joyce has also been brought in as a performance coach.

McStay said: “There were gaps in our backroom team from last year, people have moved on, which of course happens all the time in the GAA circuit. People move from county to county.

“I took my time once I was appointed, looking at what was available and the big thing was that number one, they would want to have a big interest in what we are about; massive enthusiasm and energy those were things I was looking for. The technical side and know-how is very important, but the energy and enthusiasm is really the key. Declan is well-known, he is a two-time All-Ireland winner. He wants to be at this full-time and bring all of his energy and experience. And we are going to milk him for every piece of Kerry cuteness we can get out of him,” he told Shannonside FM.

“He is going to be about the place, he has a big job of work immediately — he has three goalies: Darren O’Malley, Colm Lavin and Mark Miley. In three months he has to divide those three goalies up into the best two. That is going to be a dogfight straight away for those lads.”

O’Keeffe will add some much need experience, while McStay believes that someone like Joyce will offer a different perspective especially for the younger players in the squad.

“When I met David Joyce initially, the one thing that flew across in the interview was his energy and enthusiasm for the job.

“He is a young man, with a professional soccer background, but has experience of high performance coaching at so many levels. He has been a big achiever all of his life and we see that as a big addition to what we want to do.”

Meanwhile coopsuperstores.ie have been named the new sponsors of the 2017 Munster Hurling League. The competition will be run on a round robin league basis with five rounds. It commences on Sunday, January 8, with games between Cork and Kerry at Páirc Uí Rinn and Waterford and Limerick at Walsh Park. Clare have a bye in the first series of games.

Munster Council chairman Jerry O’Sullivan said “I am delighted that Munster GAA is partnering with such a progressive and successful organisation that has a strong presence around Munster. I look forward to the coopsuperstores.ie Munster Hurling League kicking off the 2017 season with plenty of excitement and entertainment.”