NAOMH MHUIRE coach Pat McKenna tendered his resignation after the potentially decisive National League defeat by Wildcats last Saturday night but it was not accepted by the club committee and vast majority of the squad.

As a result, McKenna coached the team in Tuesday night's Dublin league victory over Meteors but then departed on a work related trip to Spain which means that he will not be at the helm this weekend.

Team captain Eilis Ni Laoire, who will play no further part in the campaign due to injury and travel commitments, will take over the coaching duties on a temporary basis for the fixture at home to Ballybunion tomorrow.

There were heated scenes at the Oblate Hall last Saturday as Naomh Mhuire saw their chances of winning the league title virtually disappear just eight days after they lost in the cup semifinal. Some of the Mhuire supporters in a crowd of 250 gave vent to their frustrations in a manner which deeply upset McKenna who has led the club to a league title and two cup successes over the last five years.

It is understood that in the heat of the moment, McKenna tendered his resignation on the understanding that if the players and club no longer wanted him to do the job, then he was willing to step down.

But, subsequent to Tuesday evening's Dublin league match, the committee discussed the situation and has fully supported McKenna. In addition, he has almost complete support among the players.

"My feeling is that the team is behind him and we really hope he stays," said Ni Laoire yesterday. -Committee member Anne Marie Kyne, an Irish international and bone of the key players in McKenna's squad, is adamant that the resignation will not be accepted.

Central to the issue has been Naomh Mhuire's under achievement in the eyes of some observers. However, the team which topped the league standings over the past three seasons and yet lost the one off league final on each occasion, has been the most consistent power in the women's game in the 1990s.

In one regard, Mhuire have been a victim of the ever changing rules of competition. The decision of the IBA a number of years ago to use the regular league reason merely as a means of qualifying for a one off final was highly contentious and was eventually dispensed with for the current campaign. Had it been dispensed with earlier, Mhuire's position as the most consistent team of the past four years, would have been rewarded with a vastly larger collection of silverware.

McKenna is the current Irish junior team assistant coach and is currently hopeful of securing the assistant coach's job for the Irish senior team.

Meanwhile, Wildcats are just three matches away from winning their second league title in succession. With a clear lead over Mhuire and Meteors, the Waterford team have to win their last three games to be sure of the trophy and they should advance their cause with a win at home to south east rivals Wexford tomorrow.

On the men's scene, Delta Notre Dame have had a bad week with the National Competitions committee fining them £1,000 for breaking the IBA's sponsorship regulations during the televised cup semi final against Ballina a fortnight ago. Delta, who are likely to appeal the severity of the fine, put a team on court with their new sponsor's name on the front white still sporting a previous sponsor's title on the back.

In addition, Delta's appeal against the league defeat by Killester was turned down. The club had disagreed with the decision made by match officials relating to the malfunction of the match clock in the closing stages and also appealed against the legitimacy of Killester's Allan Conlan, who was home from his American scholarship college for the Christmas.

In the Budweiser sponsored Superleague, the new leaders and clear title favourites, Tralee, can go another step closer to the title if they defeat bottom club Dungannon in Kerry tomorrow. Meanwhile, second placed Star of the Sea, with only a half fit Javan Dupree, face their cup final conquerors of a fortnight ago, Ballina, in Killala. The match is crucial to both sides for very different reasons as the Mayomen struggle to extract themselves from the relegation zone.