O'Dwyer coy about managerial future

Mick O'Dwyer will prioritise dealing with a problematic, long-standing ankle injury over deciding whether he will retire from inter-county management.

The legendary football manager, who guided Kerry to eight All-Ireland SFC titles between 1975 and 1986, stepped down as Clare boss following their All-Ireland qualifier defeat to Laois in Ennis last Saturday.

At the age of 77 we may have seen the last of O'Dwyer in the managerial hot seat, but the man himself is not budging on the issue just yet.

Speaking to the Irish Independent, he quipped: "Never say never is my motto. I'm certainly not going to make any announcement that I'm quitting for good or anything like that. Who knows what the future holds?"

Clare was the fifth different county O'Dwyer has managed at senior inter-county level and the only one he failed to win a trophy with.

Apart from his huge success with his native Kerry, his managerial CV also includes two Leinster titles with Kildare, a provincial crown with Laois and a Tommy Murphy Cup with Wicklow.

The Waterville man is now determined to fix the troublesome ankle which has been bugging him since his playing days. He broke his ankle in January 1964 and in a rush to return, broke his fibula some months later.

Whilst admitting that he played through the pain barrier at times, O'Dwyer said: "The time never seemed to be right for the operation but I have to now because it's killing me when I'm walking. It's an old war wound that goes back nearly 50 years.

"I probably played too long but I loved it so much I didn't want to let go. I've known for years that I'd need an operation on the ankle but there was always a reason to put it off."

Commenting on his one season with the Banner men and the footballing future for the county, he explained: "I said I'd give it one season. As it happened, I was there for eight months.

"There's a lot to be done in Clare but there's good talent around to work on over the coming years. It was disappointing to lose to Laois the way we did (by 16 points) after playing so well for 25 minutes."