Focus on Fitzgerald's backroom team

GAELIC GAMES:BOTH CLARE and Limerick will close the deal on their new hurling managements this evening when Davy Fitzgerald's and John Allen's names come before their respective county boards, and in Fitzgerald's case, there are some interesting names linked with him.

Fitzgerald was the sole candidate presented for the Clare position vacated this summer by Ger O’Loughlin, and having ended his own term with Waterford, was always odds-on to return to his native county.

Set to join Fitzgerald in his backroom team is Louis Mulqueen, who was previously involved as Clare trainer under Cyril Lyons, when they reached the All-Ireland final in 2002, before spending two years in Galway, under former Clare manager Ger Loughnane.

There is also strong speculation that Clare’s two-time All-Ireland winning full back Brian Lohan may come on board as a selector, having worked in recent seasons with the Clare minors, and also coaching underage teams at his club Wolfe Tones in Shannon.

Fitzgerald is already looking forward to a 2012 championship opener against his former Waterford team, having drawn them last week, in the Munster hurling semi-final. In the meantime he lined out in goal again at the weekend with his club Sixmilebridge, filling in for the injured Derek Fahy, and pulled off a couple of vital saves late on to help beat Cratloe and book a final place against Crusheen, the reigning Clare champions.

Fitzgerald is adamant he’ll happily stand aside should Fahy be passed fit for the final, and in fact, assuming his Clare appointment is agreed this evening without any late glitches, intends spending several weeks later this month touring the US in a camper van.

Allen’s appointment in Limerick also looks a formality, given he was the preferred choice of the independent three-man committee set up by the county board to find a successor to Donal O’Grady, who stepped aside after his intended one year in charge.

It will be the second time Allen succeeds his fellow Cork native, as he also took over from O’Grady in Cork six years ago.

Meanwhile Ollie Baker, a former team-mate of Fitzgerald and Lohan on those Clare teams, has been appointed as manager of the Offaly hurlers for next season. Baker – a Garda Sergeant based in Tullamore – will be joined by his fellow Clare man Alan Cunningham as coach and is expected to announce his selectors over the coming days. The appointment will be formally ratified at the November county board meeting.

Both Wexford and Waterford are still actively seeking a replacement for Colm Bonner and Fitzgerald, respectively, although former Wexford All-Ireland winner Liam Dunne, who had been linked with both positions, reiterated his intention to focus solely on his club commitments, at least for the time being.

Dunne guided Oulart-The-Ballagh to a third successive Wexford hurling title on Sunday, when they beat old rivals Rathnure 1-10 to 0-11, and immediately committed to their cause as they go in search of a Leinster title (they’ll next play the Kilkenny champions, either Ballyhale Shamrocks or James Stephens), describing any link with a county team as “rubbish”.

One interesting appointment confirmed over the weekend is that of David Matthews as Cork senior hurling trainer.

The former two-time Olympian and still the Irish 800 metres record holder at 1:44.82, who recently qualified as a fitness trainer and has been active with his club in Kildare, Robertstown, was contacted by new Cork hurling manager Jimmy Barry-Murphy with a view to bringing a new dimension to the Cork set up.

It was agreed that Matthews, now 37, would take charge of all physical preparations: “David has a wonderful track record and will be a great boost to the Cork senior hurling set-up as we prepare for 2012,” said Barry-Murphy.

“He has a tremendous record at the highest level in athletics and having met him, I believe he will bring a new dimension to our physical preparation and help Cork back to the highest level.”