Former Lilywhites U20 boss proposed for four years in charge
Brian Flanagan is set to take over as Kildare manager
Brian Flanagan has been formally recommended to be the next Kildare football manager in succession to Glenn Ryan who stepped down after three years in charge in June.
Flanagan, an All-Ireland winning Under-20 manager with the county, has been the frontrunner since the vacancy arose and will be approved at a county board meeting in early September.
He has been proposed for four years and will have the former Louth and interim Donegal manager and former Armagh footballer Aidan O’Rourke as part of his backroom team. Former Kildare players Damien Hendy and Daryl Flynn will also be involved.
O’Rourke has been coach to Kildare in the past when Kieran McGeeney was manager. He has also been involved with Armagh and Down and took over in Donegal after Paddy Carr’s departure last year.
Flanagan managed Kildare to the 2023 All-Ireland U20 title, while also guiding them to back-to-back Leinster titles in 2022 and 2023. Tyrone beat Kildare in the 2022 All-Ireland U20 final.
He is also a former Kildare defender who featured during Kieran McGeeney’s time in charge while he was a selector for a year under Cian O’Neill in 2016.
Kildare have plummeted badly this season, losing all seven Allianz Division 2 games to be relegated before going out at the quarter-final stage of the Tailteann Cup to Laois.