JASON Sherlock is expected to be installed as Monaghan senior football manager next week with former team-mate Kevin Nolan understood to be in line to assist him.
Monaghan officials are keen to find Seamus McEnaney’s successor before the start of the club championship which gets underway next month.
Sherlock comes with tremendous pedigree having starred for the Dublin footballers and won an All-Ireland title in his first season in 1995.
After his inter-county retirement in 2013, he later became part of Jim Gavin’s backroom team and was also joint manager of the Dublin minor team in 2017.
The Monaghan post is a daunting assignment for the next manager. And if Sherlock accepts the offer, he will probably have to oversee a rebuilding job.
Darren and Kieran Hughes, Karl O’Connell and Conor McManus are in the twilight of their inter-county careers but there are no indications that any of these Monaghan stalwarts are considering retirement at this stage.
Nolan, who played alongside Sherlock for the Sky Blues in the ‘Noughties’, has been playing his football for Monaghan club Cremartin in recent years and would know the local scene well, which would be of huge benefit to the new manager.
It was thought Monaghan might opt for one of Monaghan’s impressive underage coaches in recent seasons, Mark Counihan or Andy Callan, but Sherlock appears to be the front-runner now and could be unveiled as early as the end of next week.
Seamus McEnaney announced he was stepping down after Monaghan suffered losses to eventual Ulster champions Derry and Mayo.
Meanwhile, Colm O’Rourke has taken the plunge and accepted the role of Meath senior football manager, despite ruling himself out during an RTE broadcast last month.
Meath native O’Rourke replaces Andy McEntee who stepped down only a few weeks ago before agreeing to become Antrim’s new senior football manager.
When asked was he interested in becoming Meath’s new manager by GAA presenter Joanne Cantwell, O’Rourke said: “I did actually go for the Meath job on three occasions in the past and even somebody as stupid as I am would get the hint that when you’re told: ‘No’ on three occasions, I think that should put it to bed.”
O’Rourke is expected to be assisted by former Meath footballers Stephen Bray and Barry Callaghan.
