Carlow want Dempsey

CARLOW have been left in turmoil, with Mick Condon the latest casualty, as claims and counter-claims are made by players and management over the sequence of events which ultimately led to the manager, selectors and physical trainer walking away, just four weeks before their championship opener.

It came after a dismal league run, which included a defeat to lowly London.

While the side’s long-serving Johnny Nevin has been put in charge of training in a caretaker capacity, County Board officers have decided to go in search of a manager. However, they admit their task is not an easy one.

But the officers are not giving up hope. They have set their sights on former Laois manager, Michael Dempsey, in an effort to fill the void before their championship opener.

Dempsey is no stranger to Carlow football, having trained the local O’Hanrahans to county and provincial club honours, but he has been out of the local scene for the past two years.

Ironically, Dempsey was in charge of Kilkenny minor footballers who lost by a solitary point to Wexford in the provincial championship last Saturday, while he was a member of the Cats’ backroom team which won last year’s All-Ireland U-21 hurling title.