Experienced Armagh duo quit

Reigning National League and Ulster SFC champions Armagh will begin the 2006 season without experienced defenders Andrew McCann and Justin McNulty in their panel.

The duo, who together have played 215 times for the Orchard county footballers, have both decided to quit inter-county football.

McCann and McNulty, whose brother Enda is a mainstay of Joe Kernan's current side, were both starters on the Armagh team that won the 2002 All-Ireland title.

However, having collected five Ulster championship medals and one provincial minor medal (1992), both players have decided to call it a day.

Kernan, in paying tribute, described McCann and McNulty as "loyal, dedicated men", adding that "both of them never shirked in training or missed a session."

Meanwhile, the Armagh county board are set to ratify a replacement for Peter Rafferty as manager of the county's under-21 footballers.

The man widely tipped for the role is Peter McDonnell, who guided Mullaghbawn to an Ulster SFC club crown in 1995.