Nolan quits Kildare hotseat

Padraig Nolan has ended his three-year association with the Kildare football team by resigning as manager tonight.

Ex-Offaly boss Nolan, who took charge of the Lilywhites from Mick O'Dwyer in October 2002, stepped down after an ultimately disappointing championship summer.

An encouraging league campaign, which saw Kildare claim four wins out of seven, set Nolan's charges up for a good championship tilt, yet they almost came a-cropper to lowly Wicklow in their Leinster opener two months ago.

Regrouping well, they did subsequently dump champions Westmeath out of the provincial race, but never recovered from the 13-point thumping they received from O'Dwyer's Laois last month.

Two weeks ago, Sligo edged them by a single point in their second round All-Ireland qualifier and that was to be the final involvement for Nolan, who guided Kildare to the Leinster final in 2003.