Flanagan wants return of exiled Westmeath trio

NEW Westmeath manager Pat Flanagan has confirmed he wants exiled trio Des Dolan, Denis Glennon and John Keane to return for the championship.

Former selector Flanagan last night took charge of his first session as Westmeath boss after being installed by county officials on Wednesday evening.

The Offaly native takes over in an interim capacity for the rest of the season following the player heave which saw Brendan Hackett quit just seven months into a three-year reign last weekend.

Flanagan will already have achieved a major victory before they even play Carlow or Wicklow on June 6 in the Leinster SFC if he succeeds in coaxing Dolan, Glennon and Keane back onto the panel, all three of whom played last summer.

Dolan made himself unavailable to Hackett for this year’s NFL Division Two campaign, which ended in relegation, while forward colleague Glennon quit midway through the competition.

Glennon would appear most likely to return as he won back-to-back Westmeath SFC titles under Flanagan at Tyrrellspass in 2006 and 2007.

Dolan’s situation is more complex as he opted out in protest after his father was snubbed for the job that Hackett got. “I don’t really know what the story was because what happened with Dessie (junior) was outside of my control,” said Flanagan.

“But what I do know from my time as a selector last year with the team is that he is an absolute gentleman who was totally committed to playing for the county. We will just have to wait and see but I will be talking to him.”

Two-time All Star defender Keane, last year’s captain, retired before Hackett got the job last year and didn’t appear to have any issue with the new management.

“I plan to talk to him but I believe that John is struggling for fitness at the moment and is troubled by a knee injury, so that has to be taken into consideration,” continued Flanagan. While this is Flanagan’s first inter-county management position he has a strong pedigree at club level and most recently led Clara to the 2009 Offaly SFC title.

He was narrowly beaten to the Westmeath job when Hackett was appointed last September and admitted he agreed straight away when he was asked last Monday if he was still interested in the post.

He said he would like to take the job on a permanent basis though it’s understood a section of clubs favour Dessie Dolan Senior getting at least an interview when the position is up for review after the championship.

“I have always wanted the chance to manage at this level and I would be interested in taking it on a longer basis,” he said. “But that’s not important now. The challenge now is to get the team ready for June 6th. After all that has happened the confidence of the players is down and that’s what we have to work on.”