LEN GAYNOR was appointed as the new manager of Tipperary hurlers last night. Gaynor will be joined by selectors Michael Doyle of Holycross and Murt Duggan of Ballingarry.

The new team replaces the management trio of Fr Tom Fogarty, Ken Hogan and John Kennedy. The outgoing management team had finished a two-year term with the team. In both years, Tipperary were beaten by Limerick in the championship, in the semi-final last year and in a memorable two match final earlier this year. They also took the team to this year's League final, where they were beaten by Galway.

The county board obviously felt a need for a new direction. Speculation recently suggested that the county board were considering making an approach to manager Michael `Babs' Keating. Gaynor's selection is therefore something of a surprise.

Winner of All-Ireland medals with Tipperary in 1965 and 1971, Gaynor (right) has an impressive record as a team manager. He steered his club Kilruane McDonagh to an All-Ireland club title in 1986. He has also coached a number of other clubs in the county - Moycarkey-Borris and Clonoulty-Rossmore - to Tipperary championship success.

As recently as last Sunday, Gaynor's influence was seen in Newport's first victory in the North Tipperary championship for 51 years.

Gaynor has also extensive involvement in the management of county teams. A selector with the Tipperary team from 1984 through to 1986, Gaynor managed Clare's hurlers in 1993 and 1994, laying some of the groundwork for their 1995 success.

During his time with Clare they qualified for two successive Munster finals, where they were beaten by Tipperary and Limerick. In '94, Gaynor was in charge of Clare when they beat Tipperary in the first round of the championship.

Selector Michael Doyle also has a long association with Tipperary. Doyle scored two goals, after coming on as a substitute, when the county ended their 14-year Munster championship barren spell in the 1987 Munster final replay against Cork in Killarney. More recently, Doyle managed the county's under-21s to All-Ireland success in 1995. His under-21 team were defeated in this year's Munster final by Cork.

Duggan's elevation to a selector's role reflects Ballingarry's rise in recent years. The club have won the county's last two minor titles, while they recently won the South Tipperary divisional title.