O’Dwyer to seal Laois deal next week

MICK O’DWYER will tell Laois GAA chiefs next week that he is ready to lead the county’s Championship challenge for next season at least.

The Kerry maestro broke his silence last night on the fevered speculation about his future, and immediately dismissed out-of-hand claims that he has indicated to Kildare GAA chiefs that he is willing to remain with the county for another season.

"Nothing will be finalised in Laois until next week, but at this stage it looks like I will be managing the county's footballers next season.

"I'm free at the moment, I have business interests in the area, and most importantly there are solid grounds for optimism with the youngsters in the county," he said.

Sixty-six-year-old O'Dwyer met with Laois Football Board chiefs on Tuesday night in Portlaoise and pledged to resume talks early next week.

The Waterville man is likely to commit for one year at first, though it is understood that the Laois executive are anxious to tie him up for two seasons.

"The bottom line is that I don't feel 66, I'm as enthusiastic as ever and I would like to stay in football for at least another year. After that, we'll see."

Laois football chairman Tom O'Loughlin led the Laois delegation on Tuesday night, at the behest of the County Board chairman Dick Miller.

As a result of the meeting, it is likely that O'Dwyer's name will be put to a full meeting of the board as soon as possible.

The key to the Kerry man's decision is the opportunity to work with a group of potentially exciting young footballers.

He frequently bemoaned the absence of a proper under-age structure in Kildare, and cited the setting up of a proper system as one of the key objectives in his final term with the Lilywhites.

Laois were fully expected to make the Leinster Championship breakthrough in recent years after claiming back-to-back All-Ireland minor football titles in 1996 and 1997. The county then went on to contest an All-Ireland U-21 final in 1998 against Kerry, but the anticipated progress at senior level has not ensued.

"After the U-21 successes, it was just presumed that things would get better. Instead they went off the rails," said one Laois County Board source.

"We believe Micko is just the man to get things back on track around here," he added.

O'Dwyer, who guided Kerry to eight All-Ireland senior titles in 11 seasons, has been at the helm in Kildare for a decade with just a two-year break.

He led them to a pair of Leinster titles, an All-Ireland final appearance in 1998, and narrowly failed to lift

another provincial title this season, defeated in the final by Tommy Lyons's Dublin.

Asked how certain he was that he would be patrolling the line for the O'Moore county next year, O'Dwyer said last night: "Fairly certain."