McGeeney commits until 2013

KIERAN McGEENEY is remaining as Kildare manager until 2013.

McGeeney’s backroom team will also be staying on, including selectors Niall Carew and Aidan O’Rourke, as well as strength and conditioning trainer Julie Davis.

The Mullaghbawn native met with county chairman Padraig Ashe on Tuesday night and praised the attitude of the Kildare county board in their long term thinking.

McGeeney said: “There was never a question of my loyalty to the players. They’ve put a lot of hard work in and you don’t like leaving players that have worked that hard for you. You look at other teams like Meath, Wexford and Fermanagh that have reached semi-finals over the last couple of years (and) it’s a hard road back. There are no guarantees. We just want to improve. Not everyone will see progress but you’re just trying to leave the team and the county stronger than when you came in. That always isn’t measured in cups although that’s what we’re aiming for. But there’s other things like raising the standard and profile of the game, making young people want to wear the jersey. As can be seen this year a lot of county boards have the wrong idea about what success is. People have to be given time. Those sort of things aren’t done over night.

“The most important thing is making sure that the grassroots and the basis of the thing is there and that will make the shop window, which is the county senior team, better prepared.”

Meanwhile, Billy Morgan and Liam Kearns have been ruled out as the next Galway manager with football bosses in the county deciding to confine the race to the five men nominated by clubs.

Current minor manager Gerry Fahy and former Westmeath boss Tomas O Flatharta appear the front-runners, with former Mayo midfielder and current Barna boss Pat Fallon, Annaghdown’s Matt Duggan and Pete Warren, a selector with John O’Mahony when Galway won the 1998 and 2001 All-Ireland titles, also in the running.