Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Lenny lets it lie after third year
LENNY HARBINSON has stepped down as Antrim football manager following their Championship exit.
The 0-13 to 0-9 defeat to Cavan in the Ulster quarterfinal on Saturday completed Harbinson’s three years in the job.
Antrim won just a single Championship game over the course of Harbinson’s tenure – an eight-point defeat of Louth in the qualifiers last year before they lost to Kildare in the following round – while they failed to break out of Division Four.
They contended strongly for promotion this year but a surprisingly one-sided 7-11 to 0-7 defeat to Wicklow on the resumption of the competition last month ultimately proved their undoing.
In a statement, Antrim chairman Ciaran Mccavana commented: “Lenny Harbinson informed Antrim county board today that he did not wish to extend his three-year contract as Antrim senior football manager.
“Lenny has been a good servant of Antrim GAA both as a player and a manager, we would like to put on record our gratitude to Lenny and his management team for all the hard work put in over the last three years with Antrim senior football squad.
“We wish them all the best in the future.”
Waterford are another county on the look-out for a new football manager after Benji Whelan stepped down.
Whelan informed the County Board of his decision after two years in charge.
Following a disrupted National League campaign, Waterford lost out to Limerick in the Munster Championship.
On a more positive note, Terry Hyland will continue as Leitrim manager in 2021.
The former Cavan boss guided the team to promotion from Division Four last year though they suffered immediate relegation as a result of a defeat to Tipperary last month before Mayo beat them in the Connacht Championship.