Naughton takes temporary charge of Dubs hurlers

Dublin under-21 manager Tommy Naughton is set to take charge of the county's senior hurlers in a caretaker capacity until the Dublin County management committee select a long-term replacement for the departed Humphrey Kelleher.

The Scoil Uí Chonaill man will be familiar to most of the current panel, having trained many of the players at underage level.

Former Dublin manager Michael O'Grady and Pad Joe Whelahan of Offaly have both been linked with the position on a more permanent basis.

Whelehan was believed to be in line for the job two years ago when the position was eventually given to Kelleher.

Whelehan has since had a less than impressive stint as Limerick boss and is thought in some quarters of the capital to be possibly not as qualified as was previously believed.

Dublin Chairman John Bailey ruled out the possibility of Kelleher’s predecessor Marty Morris taking hold of the team again.

Morris had a successful one year in charge of the senior team, winning the Walsh Cup by beating Kilkenny in the final.

Dublin hope to end a 12-game losing streak when they play in round one of the qualifying section on June 18.

The draw for both hurling and football qualifiers takes place on the Sunday Game on June 12.