Banner manager crisis deepens

THE Clare hurling crisis deepened last night when a proposal to defer the appointment of a new manager was carried. Former coach Louis Mulqueen had been expected to be put forward for ratification — along with two-time All-Ireland winner Brian Lohan — after he had been interviewed for the vacancy on Monday night. But that plan was scuppered dramatically at last night’s meeting when the Scariff club proposed that nominations for the position be reopened after a number of delegates had raised concerns regarding the process, with several insisting they had been given no mandate to ratify a new manager. The new deadline for close of nominations is Monday week, October 21. It was also revealed at last night’s meeting that neither Mulqueen nor Lohan had been asked about their backroom team, but it is understood that former Clare and Dublin manager Anthony Daly was part of Lohan’s set-up. Last night’s meeting capped a week of drama, which saw Donal Moloney (above), who has served for three years with Gerry O’Connor as joint manager, withdraw from the race after he received no contact from the committee, who had interviewed him four weeks previously. That prompted a meeting between the board chairman Joe Cooney and the players, who claimed that they were frustrated with how Moloney had been treated and contradicted what they labelled as a ‘false report’ in one local paper which had suggested they were opposed to his appointment. ‘The players are disappointed by the length of time it has taken to conclude the ongoing process and the lack of clarity provided to Donal Moloney and his management team, despite having been interviewed for the position four weeks ago. ‘No member of the Clare Senior panel approached any potential candidate for the position other than Donal Moloney,’ read the statement. Last night’s move is likely to thwart the chances of Mulqueen, who was a key figure in Davy Fitzgerald’s management team.