Flanagan takes on Westmeath role

A meeting of the Westmeath County Board last night saw Pat Flanagan appointed as the Lake County's interim senior football manager.

Offaly native Flanagan will take charge of Westmeath for their upcoming Leinster and All-Ireland Championship campaigns, before a full-time successor is sought.

Player unrest, following a winless run in NFL Division 2, resulted in Brendan Hackett tendering his resignation to the Westmeath County Board last week.

At the meeting last night, both Flanagan and Dessie Dolan Snr were proposed as candidates for the vacant position.

Flanagan, who previously managed Tyrellspass, was given the nod on an interim basis, but Dolan Snr will come back into contention in the autumn when Westmeath hope to make a full-time appointment.

Flanagan was interviewed for the role last year before Hackett was appointed. He has previous experience of the Westmeath set-up as a selector under Tomas O Flatharta who resigned last summer.

He has quite a task on his hands, with his initial focus on rousing Westmeath for their Leinster Championship opener against either Wicklow or Carlow on June 6.

Getting key forwards Dessie Dolan and Denis Glennon back in the panel would be a huge boost.

Dolan is currently in a self-imposed exile from inter-county football, while Glennon opted out of the Westmeath squad in February and has not returned.

2004 All-Star Dolan is understood to have been angered by the Westmeath County Board's handling of Hackett's appointment and their decision to not grant his father, Dessie Snr, an interview for the managerial role last year.