Longford county board will shop local for boss after Jack Sheedy departure

Longford manager Jack Sheedy

Frank Roche

THE Longford county board are seeking a home-grown senior football manager in succession to Jack Sheedy.

"The new manager will be appointed within the county of Longford. We won't be going outside the county," Longford chairman Brendan Gilmore told The Herald.

However, Gilmore stressed that this was not a reaction to the fact that Longford's last three managers - Luke Dempsey, Glenn Ryan and Sheedy - have been been outside appointments, but rather as part of the '20/20 Vision for Longford' development plan launched last November.

"We are going to stick with our own with this '20/20' and hopefully we can bring people through who will look after the interests of Longford," he said. "We have great coaching in the county and we want to build on that.

PUNCHING

"We are punching above our weight at under-16, minor and under-21, so we want to bring it on further."

Former Dublin star Sheedy resigned on Wednesday night, citing family commitments, after two roller-coaster years. His reign embraced relegation to Division Four last season, promotion last spring, followed by a stirring comeback win over Offaly in May, a 27-point hammering by his native Dublin and finally a heavy qualifier exit to Kildare.

Gilmore paid tribute to Sheedy's contribution and said his resignation had come as a "surprise".