Ryan confirms he's not a Kildare contender

Former Leinster Championship-winning captain Glenn Ryan is now out of the running to replace Kieran McGeeney as Kildare senior football manager.

There was speculation that Ryan was interested in taking on the Lilywhites job having met with County Board Chairman John McMahon last Monday morning.

But the two-time All-Star centre back, who stepped down from his role as Longford manager in August, has ruled himself out of contention as he is keen to have a long overdue break from GAA matters.

"I met with (Kildare Chairman) John McMahon recently just to rule myself out of contention," Ryan is quoted as saying by the Irish Times.

"It's very straight forward. I was managing Longford for five years, was with the Kildare Under-21s before that and went straight into that from playing so this will be my first winter off since 1988."

News of Ryan's withdrawal, coupled with Jack O'Connor's ratification as Kerry's new minor boss, leaves Kildare with what seems to be a three-man list of candidates.

Jason Ryan, who managed Wexford successfully and worked as a coach under McGeeney, looks to be the favourite with Mayo's Kevin McStay, who guided St. Brigid's of Roscommon to an All-Ireland Club SFC title last March, and legendary Kerry midfielder Darragh Ó Sé the other possibles.

A Kildare County Board meeting scheduled to take place tonight has been postponed until next week, leading to rumours that one of the above could be proposed as McGeeney's successor when the county officials convene.