Dubs postpone decision on hurling boss

THERE was no white smoke on the Dublin hurling manager front last night as the county board failed to appoint a successor to Ger Cunningham.

It was understood that the race had been narrowed down to two in the last couple of weeks, with either former Dublin football manager Pat Gilroy (right) or Cuala All-Ireland club-winning boss Mattie Kenny expected to get the nod.

A meeting of the county’s executive was expected to put a name forward for ratification to a full county board meeting but that decision was postponed.

Late last night, Dublin chairman Sean Shanley would only confirm that the decision had been delayed “due to unforeseen circumstances”.

The race to succeed Cunningham has seen many twists and turns. Kenny looked to be the conventional choice as he broke new ground when steering Cuala to become the first Dublin side to win the senior club All-Ireland earlier this year, while one bookmaker suspended betting on Gilroy becoming the next manager last month.

The situation remains up in the air but there is some urgency to the appointment with the Dublin hurling championship at the quarter-final stage, while the senior team are expected to travel to Boston on November 19 to take part in the AIG-sponsored Fenway Hurling Classic along with Clare, Galway and Tipperary.