Rebel hero McCarthy set to take reins at Laois

FORMER Cork dual star Teddy McCarthy will be named as the new Laois hurling manager in the next week.

McCarthy will succeed Kilkenny’s Brendan Fennelly who called time on his involvement after just one campaign with the midland county in July after Laois shipped 10 goals in an embarrassing 34-point All-Ireland qualifier defeat in Portlaoise.

Fennelly, whose tenure was heavily criticised, spoke about a “terrible lot of disillusionment” after that defeat and yet another season where Laois fielded teams without a number of their best players who preferred to focus on their clubs.

McCarthy will be the fifth man to take charge of the seniors in just seven seasons and heassumes the role after two years as a Cork U21 selector under Ger Fitzgerald. He will also oversee Bandon in the county intermediate final on Sunday week.

His appointment requires ratification by the county committee but that is seen as an inevitability as his name is being forwarded by a headhunting group that included county chairman Brian Allen, hurling chairman Kieran Delaney and former players Pat Critchley and Andy Dunne.

McCarthy will be dealing with a team and a group of players lingering at a low ebb but it is just two years since Laois lost out narrowly on a place in the All-Ireland quarter-final losing a qualifier to Limerick by three points.