Former Kerry coach Donie Buckley joins Monaghan backroom team

Former Kerry selector Donie Buckley before the 2019 All-Ireland final replay against Dublin. Picture: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

Monaghan boss Seamus McEnaney has wooed top coach Donie Buckley to the county for the 2021 season, Examiner Sport has learned.

McEnaney is finalising a new backroom team for next season but has secured the key part of the jigsaw with the capture of the Kerryman who is regarded as one of the top football coaches in the game.

Buckley was controversially jettisoned by Peter Keane’s Kerry last March, despite being a much-respected figure amongst the Kingdom’s playing squad. He assisted Claregalway in the Galway SFC in the autumn, but he is said to be keen on a return to the inter-county fold next season.

Discussions have already taken place between McEnaney and Buckley, with Monaghan boss Banty excited at the prospect of what Buckley will bring to the Farney as football coach.

Monaghan were the first of the country’s so-called top eight ousted from this year’s knockout football championship, suffering a dramatic 2-15 to 1-17 loss to neighbours and deadly rivals Cavan at the end of October.

McEnaney admitted afterwards that the defeat was “gut-wrenching”, but Monaghan will play Division One football next year in the restructured Allianz League alongside northern neighbours Donegal, Tyrone, and Armagh.

“That [Cavan] defeat will linger through the winter, but we need to get back up on the horse when that time comes,” he said.

Buckley’s agreement to join Monaghan — which will involve a near-three-hour drive from his Clare home for training — underlines his appetite to get back involved and would suggest he retains the passion for working on the training pitch with top players, despite the sour end to his posting with his native county this year.

The furore over a fake WhatsApp message regarding Kerry player dissatisfaction with manager Peter Keane was put to bed by county board chairman Tim Murphy, but there is a lingering sense of frustration amongst Kerry players at the loss of Buckley. Members of the squad believe the failure to replace the Castleisland man and his skillset compromised their readiness for the championship this autumn.

Talks have continued in recent days, at the request of the board executive, regarding the composition of Keane’s backroom team for 2021. There has been some discussion that Kerry’s new U20 manager Declan O’Sullivan could be a link between the U20 and senior squads, but that has yet to be properly explored.

There is a strong view at executive level that Kerry’s 2021 management team needs a shake-up.