Flanagan declares interest in Westmeath manager vacancy

FORMER Tyrrellspass manager Pat Flanagan has thrown his hat into the ring to become the new manager of Westmeath's senior football team. Just days after Dessie Dolan Snr did likewise, Clara native Flanagan has publicly expressed an interest in taking the post vacated by Tomás Ó Flatharta. Flanagan, who in recent years guided Tyrrellspass to two county titles and a Leinster club final, was a member of Ó Flatharta's backroom team during the year and has been touted in many circles as one of the front-runners to fill the vacancy. A six-man selection committee was recently set up by the county board to find a suitable new manager but they have so far denied making any approaches to potential candidates. Speaking to the 'Westmeath Independent' this week, Flanagan - who has also led Clara to an Offaly SFC title - said: "The Westmeath manager's job is a position I'm definitely interested in. I spent six or seven months working alongside Tomás and it was a very good experience. I think I know what's required to take it a step forward and a fair idea of what's needed in terms of players and so on. I feel my previous involvement with the set-up is an advantage. However, that's a decision for the selection committee to make. And at this moment in time there has been no approach made to me in relation to the Westmeath job." Flanagan has been spotted at plenty of Westmeath club championship matches in recent weeks and, while he acknowledges a need for "new blood" in the Westmeath set-up, he also dismissed the notion that wholesale changes are required. "I feel Westmeath need to be very careful about this. They had a poor start to last year's campaign and suffered injuries to many seasoned players - and they never really recovered. But perhaps people are condemning players to the scrapheap a bit too soon. It doesn't make these players bad players overnight and you must remember they pushed Tyrone mightily close during the previous campaign. I have read the papers linking my name with the job and read about the selection committee and all the rest, but as far as I'm concerned it's all just speculation at the moment because nobody has come to me to discuss the post," Flanagan said. Flanagan's declaration of interest comes hot on the heels of Dessie Dolan Snr's admission that he would be interested in managing his native county. Dolan told a national newspaper: "It's a crucial time for Westmeath football. It's vital to restore passion and morale after what happened this year. Confidence is low but things are not as bad as they look. There are still an awful lot of very good players in the county. "I'm a Westmeath man and my passion for football in this county is as strong as when I played. I felt humiliated coming out of Croke Park after what happened against Dublin this year. I would do anything to help them at a time like this. Westmeath had a shocking bad time this year, so there's some psychological repair work to be done. I believe a local man is best equipped to do that." Dolan, who has managed both Longford and Leitrim in the past, as well as a host of club teams throughout the Midlands, was the first to publicly declare an interest in the post. The former Railway Cup player - whose son Dessie Jnr has been an inter-county star for several years - has been linked with the Westmeath job several times, including in 2003, when the job eventually went to Páidí Ó Sé. Another man whose name has been linked to the post is former Meath star Colm Coyle, who is currently managing Coralstown/Kinnegad, who have advanced to the semi-finals of this year's Westmeath SFC.