Kearns reappointed as Laois manager

Tralee native Liam Kearns was last night unanimously reappointed as manager of the Laois senior football team for 2008, despite recent calls for his sacking.

Tralee native Liam Kearns was last night unanimously reappointed as manager of the Laois senior football team for 2008, despite recent calls for his sacking.

Kearns, along with his selectors, met with the Football Committee of the Laois County Board and clubs last night in Timahoe and the meeting saw him receive a resounding vote of confidence from delegates.

This is in stark contrast to the views of Ballylinan club delegate Matthew Leonard and former Laois footballer Mick Lawlor who have both put their point across in recent weeks that the current management team is not right for Laois.

Leonard dubbed Laois' display in last month's Leinster final defeat to Dublin as "ludicrous and crazy," adding that "we are not making progress and it is about time we stood up and be counted."

Meanwhile, Lawlor, a Leinster championship winner with the O'Moore men in 2003, insisted: "We need a new manager and the man (Kearns) has to go. We didn't have the proper balance in the panel this year. We didn't have any substitutes to bring on and I don't know how he didn't see that six months ago.

"He has been complaining about injuries and that but we have 16 senior clubs in Laois and he should be able to pick players from them."

Despite these criticisms, Kearns has done enough in reaching the third round of the All-Ireland qualifiers to convince the Laois County Board that he is the man to lead their team again next year.

Defeat to All-Ireland quarter-finalists Derry a fortnight ago brought an end to Kearns' first year of a three-year term with Laois.

Kearns succeeded fellow Kerryman Mick O'Dwyer as Laois boss last September but in his first season in charge of the O'Moores, he failed to secure any silverware. Laois reached both the Leinster SFC and O'Byrne Cup finals this season but they were beaten on both occasions by Dublin.

Kearns had previously managed Limerick for six years and guided the county's Under-21s to successive Munster crowns and to an All-Ireland final.

On the senior front, he helped Limerick reach a National League Division Two final in 2003, in which they were beaten by Westmeath.

The Austin Stacks clubman has strong Laois connections and his father Ollie was a wing forward on the Graiguecullen team that won the club's last Laois SFC title in 1965.

The Laois senior football championship resumed in earnest this week and Kearns and his selectors will no doubt be firmly on the lookout for new talent to blend in with the current crop of players as they resume their hunt in 2008 for an elusive Leinster crown.

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