Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
CLUB v COUNTY CHAOS Premier boss warns Championship changes will damage the club scene CAGEY DUBLIN BOARD KEEPING THEIR POWDER DRY
CONFUSION reigned last night as the Dublin county board stalled on appointing a new senior hurling manager.
The county’s management committee was set to choose between former football boss Pat Gilroy and Cuala’s All-ireland club winning manager Mattie Kenny before putting the name to a full county board meeting for ratification.
However, delegates left Parnell Park without having deliberated on the TIPPERARY football manager Liam Kearns has warned of potential “chaos” when the restructured Championships come into play next year.
The Super Eight system will be introduced for the All-ireland Football Championship, while a revamped hurling format was confirmed last weekend, with round-robin systems in place for Munster and Leinster.
Fears have been expressed about the future of the club scene and while counties will look to get some of their club fixtures run off in the month of April, Kearns doesn’t believe that’s feasible.
He told Tipp FM: “They’re talking about the Championship starting in the first week of May.
“Are they seriously saying we’re going to release players to the clubs for the whole of April, and then play the first round of the championship in May?
“That doesn’t work. The month before championship is a crucial month and I really don’t know how it’s going to work.
“Is every county going to release their players back to clubs for the whole of April, and then start from scratch again in May? matter due to “unforeseen circumstances”, the details of which remain as yet unclear.
Mirror Sport contacted county board chairman Sean Shanley but he was unavailable for comment, though it’s believed that
“I don’t think this has been thought out very well and there could be a lot of chaos in relation to this.
“Until we see what the plans are and how it’s going to be structured, we don’t know for sure.”
Kearns, who has signed up for two more years in the Premier County, is hopeful of continuing with the progress made to date.
In his two seasons at the helm to date, Tipp reached an Allireland semi-final before gaining promotion to Division Two of the Allianz League.
He admits Tipp “overachieved” in 2016, when they reached the last four of the All-ireland series before bowing out to Mayo.
Kearns has also called for full support for the Tipperary footballers from all stakeholders as they look to consolidate in Division Two, and embark on another good Championship run.
He said: “We need the full support of everybody in Tipperary – the county board, football board, the players, the clubs.
“If we want to take it on to another level, that has to be forthcoming, if we’re to reach the targets we want to reach.”
Kearns hinted a new coach may be added to his team to join Shane Stapleton, Paul Fitzgerald and Brian Lacey. the appointment will finally go through by the weekend with delegates giving the management committee the power to ratify it themselves without calling another full board meeting.
Although former manager Anthony Daly was linked with a return to the post he vacated in 2014, that trail went cold following Gilroy’s shock emergence, with one bookmaker suspending betting on the 2011 All-ireland football winning boss switching codes in August.