Clare chiefs begin trawl to replace Considine management team

CLARE intend to have a new hurling management in place “as soon as possible” following the majority agreement of clubs not to reappoint Tony Considine.

Nominations will be sought from the clubs — a process that’s already in train in relation to appointing a successor to Páidí Ó Sé — and a committee of eight will then make a recommendation to the county’s executive.

Five club representatives, chosen from the floor at Tuesday night’s meeting of the County Board, will be joined by three officers in reaching a decision on the new manager. Ultimately, the clubs will have the final say, board chairman Michael McDonagh pointed out yesterday.

At the outset, the chairman announced that Pat O’Connor, one of Considine’s selectors, had resigned from the committee. Another selector, Kieran O’Neill, was in attendance and requested that no decision would be taken until the September meeting, to facilitate Considine’s attendance. This was rejected.

During the meeting, references were made to the early resignation of Ger Ward from the selection committee and the departure of trainer Dave Mahedy around the same time.

The 45/6 vote, suggesting a high dissatisfaction with Considine’s stewardship, was a direct response to a recommendation from officers to change the management. The matter came up unexpectedly for discussion, but it was pointed out the officers met in advance and were proposing that a new management team should be put in place.

According to McDonagh, it had been agreed at the May meeting of the county board that the management of their senior teams would be discussed “when they were both out of the championship”.

“That was what happened,’’ he stated, saying they expect nominations on a new football manager soon.

The board executive had been confident of Páidí Ó Sé staying on for another year — the chairman himself expressing this view following their win over Tipperary in the Tommy Murphy Cup — but the former Kerry boss had indicated privately he had no intention of continuing.

McDonagh declined to comment about the strength of the opposition to Considine remaining at the helm for another season and what that indicated about his committee’s handling of the team. And, he didn’t wish to say anything about issues which had arisen during the year, notably the controversial Davy Fitzgerald issue.

While McDonagh informed delegates he had backed the management throughout the year, a clear division arose at the time that Clare (and Cork) players were suspended following the fracas which preceded their first-round Munster championship game.

At the time, the chairman said he wouldn’t have been surprised if there was a call (from Banner supporters) to withdraw from the championship because of the depth of anger within the county. However, Considine publicly contradicted him on that.

Several club delegates also asked to have the vote deferred to the next meeting, to allow them an opportunity to discuss the issue with their officers. This has been given as the reason why 13 delegates abstained from the vote.

One speaker recalled Ger Loughnane’s criticism of delegates before the Clare/Galway qualifier game in Cusack Park — when he likened them to “village idiots”. He argued that they should take a decision.

Mr McDonagh said yesterday that it was time for Clare “to move on”.