Dan: Déise need outside man

DAN SHANAHAN has hinted it’s in Waterford’s best interests to look outside the county once more for a manager. The 2007 hurler of the year was a big supporter of his former team-mate Fergal Hartley for the role before he pulled out of the running.

It’s now Shanahan’s belief Waterford might have to search elsewhere. However, he reckons the cash-strapped county board might not be able to attract the right candidate.

“Any success we had came from outside the county,” said Shanahan in reference to the managers he served under. “But has the county the money for expenses?

“It’s hard to know, a hard one to call. All I know is Fergal Hartley is not involved and that’s a pity because he’s a very good man.”

Shanahan believes an appointment has to be made sooner rather than later. The selection committee have said they will take their time to find Davy Fitzgerald’s successor but Shanahan insists time is of the essence.

“There are so many rumours about the thing and far too many names being bandied about. I would personally like to see it sorted soon. The club championships are in the knockout stages and there are a lot of junior and intermediate hurlers that need to be looked at.”

With Jason Ryan meeting Wexford officials tonight, where he is expected to agree to stay on for at least another season as football manager, Waterford’s candidate list looks to be shortened again. However, the number of potential managers includes several proven inter-county coaches, including former Déise manager Gerald McCarthy.

A sub-committee of the Waterford County Board has been tasked with finding a replacement for Fitzgerald, who simply needs to be ratified by the Clare County Board to become manager in the Banner County, and McCarthy is understood to be among the names being considered.

The St Finbarr’s and Cork star trained Cork in 1982 and from 1990 to 1993 before taking over Waterford from 1996 to 2001, when he was replaced by his namesake Justin. He returned to manage Cork from 2007 to 2009, with the latter part of his tenure marred by a divisive player strike.

McCarthy is not the only St Finbarr’s clubman Waterford are keen on. Déise officials are also interested in John Meyler, a Cork senior selector in the past as well as managing Wexford and Kerry, and John Allen, who managed Cork to the 2005 All-Ireland.

Allen has also been linked to the vacancy in Limerick.

Michael Ryan, a former Waterford senior hurling selector and manager of De La Salle, and former Kilkenny goalkeeper James McGarry, currently manager of Ballyhale Shamrocks, are also in the frame for the post.

Meanwhile, Clare manager-elect Fitzgerald will finalise his backroom team over the next couple of days. Fitzgerald’s former team-mate Brian Lohan is expected to be involved as a selector as well as ex-Clare and Galway selector Louis Mulqueen, with Cratloe’s Mike Deegan also a possibility.

Fitzgerald and his prospective backroom team will meet with county board officials on October 11. The 40-year-old has also cancelled a golf holiday in the US next week to line out in goal for Sixmilebridge in their county semi-final against neighbours Cratloe.

Fitzgerald is set to replace Derek Fahy who suffered a fractured cheekbone in last Saturday’s quarter-final victory over Inagh-Kilnamona in Cusack Park.

Elsewhere, Teddy McCarthy will be given the green light as the new Laois manager at a meeting of the county executive next week. Cork’s dual All-Ireland winner will take control of the senior hurlers for a three-year period, replacing Brendan Fennelly.

McCarthy, a Cork U21 selector under Ger Fitzgerald over the last two seasons, was one of seven candidates interviewed for the position.

In other news, the GAA’s Central Council meeting that was expected to follow tomorrow’s management committee meeting won’t now take place. The next meeting is scheduled for November 12, which could have repercussions for the master fixture planners if the eight hurling counties’ opposition to the new Allianz League structure is successful.

Meanwhile, Anthony Daly has backed Davy Fitzgerald to use his experience as Waterford manager to help make Clare the Munster champions.

Fitzgerald will be ratified as the Banner’s new senior hurling manager at the next county board meeting on October 11.

Daly was Clare manager himself before taking over the reins of Dublin. Fitzgerald was a team-mate — as was outgoing Clare boss Ger O’Loughlin — when Daly captained Clare to All-Ireland success in 1995 and 1997.

He believes that a better candidate could not have been chosen to carry on O’Loughlin’s good work in freshening up an aging Clare panel.

“He was the obvious candidate once he said he was interested,” said Daly last evening. “He has worked with Waterford for four years, won a Munster championship, been in four All-Ireland semi-finals, an All-Ireland final; he has two Fitzgibbons won. He can’t win much more to be fair.

“He would be savage well organised, has savage passion and he’d know the players well having worked at colleges level the last few years.

“The experience he brings from Waterford is huge I think because it’s a different level of management. You have to have a bit of know-how about what makes fellas tick.

“All I know is at the end of my three years at Clare, I’d like to think I was a lot better than I was at the start. You learn about man-management and I’d say he’s learned loads in Waterford.”

Many of the victorious 2009 All-Ireland U21 have been blooded at senior level by O’Loughlin, while Fitzgerald may well look to this year’s minor squad for some talent as well. Given the calibre of player available, expectation is increasing amongst Clare supporters that a first Munster senior title since 1998 is on the horizon.

“That would be the belief, talking to people, with two good minor teams, could’ve won this year’s All-Ireland minor, and the U21s are moving on.

“But the first thing he’ll have to do is get his backroom team sorted. There’s talk about Louis Mulqueen, Brian Lohan and Mike Deegan, the Cratloe manager. That sounds like a good combination but I don’t know if these people have even been approached.”

Daly was keen to praise O’Loughlin for his efforts as Clare boss.

“The results didn’t go his way and they didn’t come out of Division 2 but I think ‘Sparrow’ has done a service to Clare. He was very unlucky with losing Brian O’Connell to Australia, and Gerry O’Grady had to give it up.

“He was chucked in with a bunch of young lads really and obviously it’s a huge step up from U21 to senior inter-county as everyone has found out.

“You could see it with Dublin this year. But then go back to 2007 when Galway gave them a fairly substantial beating in the U21 All-Ireland final, Dublin have more off that team now than Galway. That’s about bringing fellas through and the character of the guys in question.”