Banner man Baker to take charge of Offaly hurlers

OLLIE BAKER is set to follow his former Clare All-Ireland-winning teammates Davy Fitzgerald and Anthony Daly into inter-county senior management, after being recommended by an Offaly County Board appointments committee to succeed Joe Dooley as the county’s new manager.

Baker, who has recent inter-county experience as a selector with Clare and Antrim, will be formally ratified at the November meeting of the Offaly County Board. The 1995 and 1997 All-Ireland winner, who is based in Tullamore as a garda sergeant, has brought Wolfe Tones club man Alan Cunningham on board as his coach and will announce his selectors in the coming days.

In Antrim, Jerry Wallace was last night ratified as the new senior hurling manager for a two-year term. Wallace, who served as the Saffron outfit’s physical trainer last year, has plenty inter-county experience having been involved in Cork’s All-Ireland victory in 2004 while also assuming a similar role with the Limerick hurlers this season.