Anthony Daly still has hunger for inter-county role, reckons Dub Corcoran

By Brendan O’Brien

Anthony Daly may have ruled himself out of the running for the vacant post in Waterford last month but Niall Corcoran believes the Clare man is far from done with life as an inter-county manager.

The former Banner captain has more than a decade’s worth of experience on the sidelines at the highest level, having guided his native county and Dublin in the past, and he remains highly regarded within the game.

Corcoran won league and Leinster medals under Daly with Dublin, in 2011 and 2013 respectively, and he has been serving under his old boss again since Daly took over as Kilmacud Crokes manager back in November.

I think the appetite is there to do it. I get the feeling he’d love to get another crack at the Clare job. I think it depends. I’m not sure how long the two boys are there with Clare but they’re doing a great job so he might have to sit on his hands a bit longer.

Donal Moloney, one half of the current Clare brains trust, was asked about his and Gerry O’Connor’s intentions after the All-Ireland semi-final replay defeat to Galway last Sunday and said that time would be taken before any decision was reached.

Moloney did also intimate that the pair had been at the coalface working with various teams for over a decade now, too. The pair enjoyed huge success with their native county at both minor and U21 grades and have reached two Munster senior finals and an All-Ireland semi-final.

Daly had been the favourite for the Clare post just under two years ago. He eventually decided to clear the way for the current double act to take charge by withdrawing from the interview process for what he said was the sake of unity in the county.

Daly did add at the time that it remained a dream to go back and have a second crack at the Clare job at some point but Corcoran was one of those who felt that the task of succeeding Derek McGrath in the south-east could have been a good fit, too.

“I thought it might be, yeah. I don’t know why. I haven’t been talking to him about it, really. I don’t know. Is the heart maybe firmly set on Clare? I’m not sure but Waterford is a kind of a gig where you’ve a good group of players there and something to work with there.

“From being involved with Anthony over the years, I think he’s a brilliant guy to bring a team on and develop a team and develop a style of play. I actually thought he would be a great fit for Waterford but, look, he has other plans as well. Who knows?”