Louth chief blasts clubs’ disinterest in filling county hot seat

THE chairman of the Louth County Board has slammed clubs for their unwillingness to provide qualified candidates for the managerial vacancy within the county, despite their readiness to criticise former boss Eamonn McEneaney.

Paddy Oliver has revealed that the position will almost certainly be filled by a non-native and is hoping that the process will be completed inside the next fortnight.

“I’m going on holidays for a few weeks so I would like to have a manager by then but whether I will or not is another thing,” said Oliver.

“At the stage we’re in, we’re not going to get one immediately.

“There were a few people nominated from the clubs but that led to nothing. Now it’s a case of people from outside the county being interested and we will be making contact with them to see if they fit the right criteria and are on the same wavelength as us with regard to the job.”

Oliver is joined on the selection committee by secretary, Pat Hamilton and Irish language officer, Trevor O hEochaidh, while someone with inter-county experience will be added for the interview process.

The response of the clubs has disappointed the committee and Oliver pulls no punches in his criticism.

“The level of interest in the job from within the county, certainly doesn’t match the level of interest from outside the county,” he said.

“It’s interesting the way clubs talk about the Louth team and the management that has gone, that they didn’t provide many alternatives when Eamonn McEneaney retired. They’re quick to tell you what’s wrong but not so quick to come up with possible solutions.”

Oliver is realistic about the targets Louth should be setting. He concedes that the job might not be the most attractive around but reasserts the point that this seems to be the case within the county more so than outside and hails the “track record” of those currently expressing an interest.

“My own view is that in any given year, there could be a swing potential of 10 positions for Louth, from getting into the top 15 or dropping to the top 25. They are our parameters. While there isn’t immediate potential of getting into the top 10 in Ireland, I would be disappointed with going out of the top 25.

“There’s a possibility that that makes the job less attractive but we have potential in the sense that we have a training centre (in Darver) and we have the population as well.

“To be fair, the people that have made enquiries or had enquiries made on their behalf, are all people of ability, with a track record. They’re not novices.”

Oliver is anxious to praise McEneaney for his initial impact before deciding to call it quits after four years at the helm.

“He brought us up to that top 15. It’s only two years ago we beat Kildare in the qualifiers. I suppose there was a bit of an aging team though and it was hard to keep it going.

“I think with two years of hard work, good management and everything else, we can get back up there again and be competitive.”