Second season for Leitrim joint-managers

After a review of their first season in charge, Barney Breen and George Dugdale have been given the green light to continue as joint-managers of the Leitrim senior football team for 2013.

The pair assumed managerial control last December after Mickey Moran's sudden departure due to ill health, and helped Leitrim enjoy one of their best Championship displays in recent memory.

They beat London in the Connacht Championship before falling to eventual champions and All-Ireland finalists Mayo.

Then in July, Leitrim made history by claiming their first ever All-Ireland qualifier victory - overcoming Wicklow by 0-13 to 0-10 in Carrick-on-Shannon.

At the same venue a week later, Breen and Dugdale's charges finished as two-point losers to a resurgent Laois side as they bowed out of the Championship after four games.

There will be continuity at Under-21 level for the Leitrim footballers too, with manager Brendan Guckian and his selectors Padraig Kenny and Jimmy Holohan being ratified for another year.

In a further boost, the Bush Hotel in Carrick-on-Shannon have confirmed that they will continue to be Leitrim GAA's main sponsors for a fourth year.

Meanwhile, newly-appointed Derry senior football manager Brian McIver has announced a series of trials in his first step towards putting together his squad for next season.

The trials for the players are to be held on October 20 and 27 as McIver, the former Donegal boss, bids to shake up a panel that disappointed in this year's Championship.

Speaking to the Irish News, he explained: "What emerges from these trials will form the basis of our initial squad for the 2013 season.

"We're giving advance notice because we want fellas to think about what it is they want out of the trials, and their potential involvement with Derry next year. It will also give them time to focus ahead of the trials.

"I'm conscious of the fact that we'll have Ulster Club Championship representatives at that stage and we'll make allowances for players on those teams."