Minogue: shine taken off Banner’s U-21 win

CLARE’S All-Ireland U-21 winning manager John Minogue claims some of the gloss has been taken off a landmark season because of the bitter dispute that led to Mike McNamara’s resignation as senior boss.

Minogue admitted that the prospect of taking over from McNamara was “tempting” after the job was first offered to the successful U-21 management team on a first refusal basis.

Minogue, Cyril Lyons, Alan Dunne and Sean O’Halloran have committed to the U-21s for another season but there is speculation that Lyons could also link up with new senior boss Ger ‘Sparrow’ O’Loughlin as a selector.