Conway takes Tang reins as Clann choose Harney

FORMER Westmeath hero Paul Conway has been appointed as manager of Tang's intermediate team. Conway, 36, was a key part of Westmeath's historic 2004 Leinster title winning team, and has been a mainstay in the Tang side for many years. Conway doesn't anticipate taking to the field next year, though, and told the Westmeath Independent he hopes last weekend's appearance for Tang in the Intermediate Cup final, in which they defeated Rosemount after extra-time, will be his final appearance for the club. "I've had long enough at it, to be honest," said Conway. "Tang have a young team now, and it's time for me to concentrate on trying to manage them properly. We won promotion from Division 2 this year (Tang finished top of the ACFL Division 2), so I suppose the priority for next year will be to stay in Division 1. If you build up good form and confidence in the league it can lead to a fairly good championship," he added. Over the last few years, Conway has helped out with training under different managers at Tang, and in 2007 became a selector in Tomás " Flatharta's Westmeath set-up. After a career of great service to Westmeath, injury forced Conway to retire from inter-county fare in 2005, but he's continued to exert great influence in the Tang side ever since. He was part of the Tang team, under Padraig Farrell's management, that reached the semi-finals of this year's Westmeath IFC, before losing to eventual winners Coralstown-Kinnegad. Conway will have current club chairman, Damien Gill, and Padraig Reilly, working alongside him as selectors. Meanwhile, Clann na nGael have also appointed from within to fill their vacancy of senior team manager, with long-serving clubman Eamon Harney taking on the job. Clann have found the going tough in recent years in the Roscommon SFC, and required a relegation play-off to maintain senior status this year. Dessie Dolan Snr., had managed the team for the 2010 campaign, when they reached the SFC quarter-finals, and stayed at the helm for the bulk of this year's championship, before Padraig Naughton, a highly successful former Clann player, took an interim role following Dolan's departure. Naughton managed to steer Clann clear of the threat of relegation, as they saw off St Aidan's in a relegation play-off. Harney is highly regarded within the club for his sterling work with several of Clann's underage sides, and underage county teams in recent years.