I’m interested in vacant Donegal job, says Doherty

ALL-IRELAND winner John Joe Doherty has declared his interest in succeeding Brian McIver as Donegal senior football manager.

McIver departed the position in acrimonious circumstances after the county board meeting and Doherty, a member of the historic 1992 All-Ireland winning team, has become the first contender to declare an interest.

“Yes, I am interested in the job and I am willing to let my name go forward. There is not much more I can say about it at the moment,” Doherty told the Donegal Democrat.

“I am talking to a number of people about a backroom team and for now that is all that I can say.

“It is all at a very early stage, but yes, I would like to get a chance to do the job.”

Doherty’s backroom team is likely to have fellow 1992 All-Ireland winner Tony Boyle involved in a leading capacity. At the moment Doherty is believed to be the front-runner for the position and it is also understood his appointment would be welcomed by the majority of the county’s players. The likelihood is that a Donegal man will be appointed to the post which would place Doherty, this year’s County U21 manager, as a strong favourite.

The main opposition to Doherty is expected to come from former Fermanagh manager Charlie Mulgrew and ex-Donegal midfielder Jimmy McGuinness.

The Donegal county board yesterday set a deadline for applications for the managerial position, with all applications to be forward to county secretary Charlie O’Donnell on or before 5pm on September 30.

It is expected that the committee to interview prospective candidates will be formed in the first week of October once all nominations have beenreceived.

It is understood that this measure has been taken to ensure that there will no committee representative from the same club as any of the candidates.

The board has seemingly noted the recent situation in the Limerick hurling manager race where Tom Ryan undertook court proceedings against the county board over what he perceived as a lack of fairness in the management interview structures.

County board sources have also revealed that it is unlikely that there will be any player representatives on the interview committee. The Donegal players had thought they would be centrally involved in the appointment but this now looks unlikely to be the case.