Rossies rocked as O'Donnell steps down as manager

THE Roscommon County Board must begin searching for a new senior football team manager after the surpising decision last midweek of Fergal O'Donnell to step down from the post. In 2010, O'Donnell guided Roscommon to a first Connacht SFC win since 2001, beating Sligo in the final in Castlebar, before losing gallantly to eventual All-Ireland champions Cork in the All-Ireland quarter-finals. This year, they overcame New York and Leitrim to reach a second successive provincial decider, but this time lost out to Mayo. The Rossies' then had Tyrone on the ropes for large periods of their All-Ireland Round 4 Qualifier, but eventually the Ulster-men's greater class told and Roscommon went out on a 1-14 to 3-19 scoreline. O'Donnell had also previously guided the county minor team to a famous All-Ireland success in 2006, and his departure from the post has come as something of a surprise to most observers. Jimmy Gacquin has been tipped by many as the early favourite to succeed O'Donnell. The Kiltoom man, who first came to national prominence as manager of the Longford minor team that captured a Leinster title in 2002, was in charge of last year's Roscommon under-21 side, which won Connacht honours before losing the All-Ireland semi-final to Dublin. Other potential replacements speculated upon to date include current St Brigid's manager Noel O'Brien and Ross Shannon, who led Roscommon to a Connacht MFC title this year, but stepped down as minor boss last month. A statement issued by the Roscommon County Board said: "Fergal O'Donnell has stepped down from his position as manager of the Roscommon senior football team following three years in charge. During his tenure, Fergal led the team to the county's first Connacht Senior title in nine years by defeating Sligo in 2010, and made the team a competitive force again. The Board would like to extend its gratitude to Fergal and his management team." O'Donnell, a former county midfielder, was expected to continue in the role for a fourth year, before meeting with county board chairman Michael Fahy last Tuesday night to inform him of his decision to resign due to "family reasons". Roscommon GAA PRO, Colm Beirne, said that a selection committee will be formed as soon as possible to begin the process of finding O'Donnell's replacement. Roscommon have been drawn against Galway in next year's Connacht SFC. Westmeath learn Leinster SFC fate Meanwhile, a grandstand clash with All-Ireland champions, Dublin, is the prize for whoever wins next summer's opening Leinster SFC meeting between Westmeath and Louth. Last week, Pat Flanagan's charges were drawn to play the Wee County in their first championship outing of 2012, but the subject on everybody's lips was the quarter-final line-up. A win over Louth would give Westmeath a shot at dethroning the current Leinster and All-Ireland champions, but the first round is, in itself, a difficult task. In their league meeting last April, Louth ran out comfortable 1-15 to 0-13 winners over Westmeath. Still fresh in the Lake County's collective mind is the Leinster semi-final defeat at the hands of the border side in 2010, denying them a realistic shot at a second Delaney Cup win. But even more corrosive are memories of the semi-final of two years ago, when Dublin subjected Westmeath to a 27-point thrashing at Croke Park.