Canavan ends his Erneside tenure

The Fermanagh senior footballers will be led by a new manager next season after Peter Canavan decided not to put his name forward to continue in the position.

Canavan has been Fermanagh boss for the past two years, but has informed the County Committee that he is stepping down following 'lengthy and careful consideration'.

The Tyrone great took over from John O'Neill in November 2011 against a backdrop of of player unrest and poor results on the pitch, including a Championship defeat by London earlier in the year.

Canavan immediately got the Ernesiders back on track with promotion from Division 3 of the Allianz League in his first year, however they failed to win an Ulster Championship match during his tenure - losing to both Down and Cavan.

On the positive side, they beat Westmeath in the first round of this summer's All-Ireland qualifiers before losing again to Cavan in mid-July.

They also narrowly missed out on promotion in the league this year, finishing third in Division 3 just a point behind promoted Meath and Monaghan.

On ending his involvement with Fermanagh, Canavan thanked former Chairman Peter Carty and current Chairman Patsy Dolan, along with 'all those people who have supported the County Committee' and 'all those genuine supporters who travelled all over Ireland to support the team'.

The 2003 All-Ireland winning captain also paid tribute to his management team and the 'special group of players' for their hard work and commitment to their roles.

"My management team and I have worked extremely hard over the past two years and we believe significant progress has been made," explained the 42-year-old Canavan.

"The senior footballers now representing their county are fully committed, unified and ambitious. With a clear vision and a united County Committee I have no doubt that the players will respond in a positive manner."

A statement from Fermanagh GAA acknowledged the 'progress made in respect of the outgoing management's work with the county team'.

It added: "Peter took over the team at a very difficult time and during his period as manager worked extremely hard to develop a united panel of players, leaving the county well placed to meet the challenges of county football in the years ahead."