McIver returns

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

Sláinte om, more sloppy reportage.

[TheHeckler]

McIver wants his Donegal job back 

Brian McIver has told the Donegal GAA board that he wants to manage the county's senior football team in 2008.

County PRO Seamus O'Donnell confirmed on Thursday that McIver is one of three people to apply for the position even though he quit the job last month.  "The position now is that we have to look at all three applicants equally," added the Donegal official.

The other two applicants are believed to be ex-Fermanagh boss Charlie Mulgrew and Jim McGuinness.

The Donegal PRO refused to reveal the identity of the two other contenders but he did confirm that they had submitted their applications prior to McIver's shock announcement of his u-turn.

Mulgrew stepped down as Fermanagh boss in July after a four-year stint which included an All-Ireland semi-final place appearance in 2004.   Former Donegal midfielder McGuinness guided Gweedore to the Donegal title two years ago.

Speculation emerged last weekend over McIver's change of heart over the Donegal job.

The Tyrone man stepped down as team boss in July after Donegal had crashed out to Monaghan in the All-Ireland qualifiers. McIver's decision was something of a surprise as he had steered Donegal to the county's first ever Allianz National Football League title in April.

Despite this week's surprise events in Donegal, the county is unlikely to have a manager in place until early next month.  One of the candidates is on holiday for another 10 days while county secretary Crona Regan, who will be centrally involved in the appointment of the next manager, is also on a break at the moment.

When he announced his decision to quit, McIver insisted he would not return to county management.  However, there has been speculation that his backroom team convinced him to change his mind.

The Donegal board has not imposed any deadline for applications so, in theory, other candidates could also put their names forward for the job.   However, with strong candidates such as McIver and Mulgrew in the race, that appears unlikely.


From BBC page, Thursday 16 August 2007


In yesterday's Irish News Joe Kernan said he had been approached by 2 counties - would Donegal have been one of them?

[orangeman]

Did the Donegal County board come begging to Mc Ivor ? Or has had he just a change of heart ? Knowing Mc Ivor I'd say Donegal came knocking on his door.

[amigo]

Did the Donegal County board come begging to Mc Ivor ? Or has had he just a change of heart ? Knowing Mc Ivor I'd say Donegal came knocking on his door.

I dont think so orangeman. Mc Iver stikes me as a man who likes to keep himself in the limelight. He seems to like to attract plenty of media attention on himself !!!

[loughshore lad]

Did the Donegal County board come begging to Mc Ivor ? Or has had he just a change of heart ? Knowing Mc Ivor I'd say Donegal came knocking on his door.

I dont think so orangeman. Mc Iver stikes me as a man who likes to keep himself in the limelight. He seems to like to attract plenty of media attention on himself !!!

You obviously dont know him too well then amigo, he is an absolute gentleman. Donegal really begged him to reconsider from what I hear.

[orangeman]

Amigo - that statement couldn't be further from the truth. He is far from being a man who seeks publicity.

[clarshack]

he shouldnt go back. it is a poisoned chalice. he should go for a good club job and then tyrone when mickey goes.

[Leo]

He's on a hiding to nothing. Has done well with Donegal but there are too many players in that team who cannot get the handall out of their system as witness the last 15 minutes of their championship this year which they should have really shaken up and it was obvious that the players had abandined McIver's gameplan which had been working well up until then.

[J70]

From the Donegal News

McIver seeks return as Bonner queries the U-turn

BY HARRY WALSH AND CHRIS MCNULTY

FORMER Donegal manager Declan Bonner has questioned the decision by Brian McIver to rethink his position and seek a return to the Donegal hotseat, just a fortnight on from his resignation after the Championship.

McIver, it is known, sought a meeting with the outgoing panel this week after deliberations with his backroom team last week and he met with the players on Monday night last where he is reported to have finalised his decision to seek another year at the helm.

But, with other applicants having their names in the ring for the job, it is not just a matter of McIver stepping back into the breach and he will now be treated like the others who have expressed an interest.

"Brian did resign in front of a County Board meeting and as a result he will have to be treated like any other candidate. Brian has no problem with that, but as Chairman of the County Board, I want to ensure that respect is shown also to the other people who applied," County Board Chairman Sean Kelly told the Donegal News.

Mr Kelly would not be drawn on the other names that are in for the job, but it has been widely reported that two definites are Jim McGuinness, current boss of Naomh Conaill, and former Fermanagh manager Charlie Mulgrew.

Another man who was said to be considering making an application was Gaoth Dobhair manager Declan Bonner, but he has since ruled out making a return to the position he vacated after a three-year term in 2000.

"When McIver walked away from the job two weeks ago a line should have been drawn in the sand. Other guys have applied for the job and now they'll probably withdraw their applications. Looking down the road in a year's time what will happen?

"In fairness, McIver he won a National League with Donegal but I thought it was downhill after that.

"Looking at it from the outside you have to wonder whether their attitudes were right. That's down to management too. In the games they played they didn't seem to move on from the National League. They were playing second fiddle to Monaghan, Tyrone and even Armagh," he said.

When asked about 'off the field' rumours which have dogged the Donegal squad in recent seasons, Bonner pointed to the Monaghan squad.

"Their players decided themselves back in March or April that there would be no more beer until they were knocked out of the Championship.

"Management can set down rules but unless players have the will power to do it you're helpless. You can't have seven or eight players meeting up on a Monday to go on a session. That sets them back and they're not fit to play the following week - regardless of what they may think.

"The Donegal squad have to be really hard on themselves if they want to get onto the next step of the ladder. Just look at how Monaghan have progressed in the past twelve months - their attitude, commitment and will to win. The sacrifices they were prepared to make - that's the big think.

"There's no harm having a few beers after a match but let's get back to work on a Monday morning and meet up at training that evening (Monday). Maybe management placed too much trust in the players but...

"Discipline is a problem in the Donegal camp but whether it is that big I don't know. It's probably a small number of players who are tarring the entire bunch with the one brush. There is a very good nucleus of players in Donegal and they've already proved that. The big secret is being able to move it on to the next level. The next level is the crucial one. Ultimately players will determine the result on the park. It's up to them"

[J70]

He's on a hiding to nothing. Has done well with Donegal but there are too many players in that team who cannot get the handall out of their system as witness the last 15 minutes of their championship this year which they should have really shaken up and it was obvious that the players had abandined McIver's gameplan which had been working well up until then.

Whatever about other games, the players abandoning McIver's gameplan was not really an issue in the Monaghan game. A half-fit and out-of-form full-forward pairing who were completely outplayed by the Monaghan backs, along with an inexplicable delay in replacing them on the day, was a big part of the reason for the poor performance. McIver has to take his share of the blame for that, as well as leaving an aging Niall McCready to chase Hanratty around the Omagh pitch. Devenney wasn't replaced until the game was gone, while McFadden should have been gone fairly early too. Quite a few decent long balls were delivered into the corners, especially after Christy Toye came on, but the two boys up front couldn't win any, unlike Hanratty and Freeman at the other end. Maybe the likes of McMenamin and Sweeney or even (remember him!) Michael Doherty wouldn't have done much better, but they sure as hell couldn't have been any worse!

The players have to take the blame for lying down and accepting defeat with more than 20 minutes left, I'll grant you that!

[orangeman]

The attitude of the Donegal players stinks - they must accept the blame - Mc Ivor should just let them at it !!!