No nominations from clubs for vacant Antrim post

The process to appoint a new Antrim hurling manager has encountered a major stumbling block with the county board remarkably not receiving a single nomination for the position from the Saffron clubs.

Following the resignations of joint managers Dominic ‘Woody’ McKinley and Terence ‘Sambo’ McNaughton, who had served for three years, after the All-Ireland relegation play-off with Offaly in July, the Antrim clubs had up to last Friday to submit nominations for the vacant post.

However, county board secretary Quinn says he’s not surprised by the attitude of the clubs in Antrim towards the appointment process for a new county manager and the lack of nominations for the post.

"We were hoping to receive a few nominations, but to say we are shocked by the lack of a positive approach from the clubs would be a gross exaggeration," he remarked.

"For some time now, a lot of the clubs in the county have displayed a very apathetic approach towards the various county teams.

"And their approach on this occasion is just another manifestation of the fact that they attach considerably more importance to the club scene than towards the inter-county set-up, and that they are opposed to capable people from their clubs making themselves available to the county."

In the aftermath of a lack of response from the clubs, a four-man sub-committee, comprising Quinn and three fellow members of the board management committee, whom he did not wish to name, has been set up.