Evans declares interest in Meath vacancy

John Evans has stated that he would be "interested" in replacing Seamus McEnaney as Meath senior football manager as the race gets underway to find a replacement for the Monaghan man. Kerry man Evans was brought into the Meath set up last April by McEnaney after relegation from NFL Div 2 and he proved to be a popular choice among the players. One of his roles was training the team although it was understood he was also closely involved in the selection process. Inevitably a number of familiar names has emerged as possible replacements for McEnaney with Colm O'Rourke, Sean Kelly and Gerry McEntee among those mentioned. Sean Boylan may also be nominated although it's highly unlikely he would allow his name to go forward. O'Rourke has been continually linked with the Meath job since Boylan stepped down in 2005 although his role as an RTÉ analyst may prevent him from pursuing the position. McEntee would also be a popular choice among many Meath supporters who remember his barnstorming displays. He also has considerable managerial experience having helped St Brigid's to a Dublin SFC title last year and a sustained run in the Leinster club championship. He also had a spell in charge of the Dublin minor football team. Kelly, the current Donaghmore/Ashbourne manager, also built up a notable CV as a coach with a number of clubs in Meath that included Navan O'Mahonys who he guided to the Meath SFC, along with Sean Barry, in 2008. Kildare manager Kieran McGeeney is another name that has been added to the mix. With Kildare out of the championship it has been suggested that the Armagh man might be interested in a different challenge. However, Evans has the advantage of having already worked with the Meath players and he was credited with injecting some badly needed confidence into the panel after the humiliation of a home defeat by Louth and relegation to Div 3. The Kerry man also had a big say in team selection and was regularly consulted by McEnaney during the course of games. "Yes I would be interested, you're always interested in something like that. I was happy working with the players and I was happy with the response they gave in such a short time. You would want to be a fool to say you wouldn't want to work with them," he told the Meath Chronicle. "I really enjoyed my sojourn to Meath. They were at such a low ebb in fairness when I went up there and I applied a new style, implemented a game plan they liked. "What I was really, really delighted with was the response of the players, they were wonderful, the overall atmosphere changed and they thrived on that," he said. Evans says that travelling from his home in Killorglin would not prove a major obstacle as far as he is concerned although he accepts that there may well be opposition from some quarters in Meath football to the appointment of another manager from "outside" the county. He feels that a three-year term would be "ample time" for new manager to make the kind of changes required to take Meath up to a another level although he would be looking for improvements from the start. Over the coming weeks clubs will be requested to send in their nominations for manager while the Co Board will also set up their own sub-committee to deal with the matter.