DOWN’S dream of bringing Jim McGuinness into their management team appears to be dead after he ruled out any involvement until the end of the Irish soccer season.
McGuinness had been involved in advanced discussions with Down county board around taking up a role in a team involving Conor Laverty and Marty Clarke, but his interest is understood to have cooled in recent days.
Continuing his pursuit of a career in soccer management has been the sticking point that had held up negotiations, with Down originally hoping they would be able to convince him to juggle a role in their setup with his Derry City U19 commitments.
Those hopes had faded over the past 48 hours and appeared to be killed off completely yesterday by an interview McGuinness conducted with The Irish Times.
While the headline stated that there was “no truth” to stories linking him with Down, McGuinness himself said he had spoken to “a number of county teams” about prospective roles, but that he was “very much focussed on soccer at the moment and waiting to see what might happen or not happen at the end of the season.”
While he didn’t rule out any potential involvement with an inter-county team next season, McGuinness’ words do appear to remove him from tying up with a county until at least the turn of the year.
The former Donegal manager had been linked with taking over at struggling Dundalk FC earlier this year.
There are just two games left of the Airtricity League season and McGuinness has spoken in the past of his intentions to pursue a career in soccer management that has seen him take roles in both China and America since leaving Donegal in 2014.
It’s unclear whether Conor Laverty and Marty Clarke will pursue the job in the absence of McGuinness from the ticket.
More than four months after Paddy Tally left the job, and just over a month before the window for inter-county training reopens, Down’s search continues.
