'Preferred candidate' Aidan O’Rourke pulls out of Roscommon manager selection process
Aidan O’Rourke has pulled out of becoming the new Roscommon senior football manager.
In a statement released on the Roscommon website, the executive confirmed the former Armagh defender had informed chairman Seamus Sweeney he was no longer willing to put forward his name after asking for a 24-hour deferral to confirm the name of a backroom member, which was revealed to be Donegal’s Karl Lacey.
It read: “Prior to last night’s (Monday county board) meeting, the chairman Seamus Sweeney received a phone call from the preferred candidate requesting a 24-hour deferral. This was conveyed to the county board delegates at last night’s meeting.
“Our preferred candidate was Aidan O’Rourke. His team was to consist of Mike McGurn Strength and Conditioning, two Roscommon coach/selectors, and a head coach Karl Lacy (sic).
“The reason for the delay was because of unexpected doubts in relation to Karl Lacy’s availability as head coach. Unfortunately, this morning the county chairman received a call from Aidan O’Rourke informing him that he was withdrawing from the process.
“The Roscommon GAA Management committee are very disappointed at the turn of events but are fully committed to completing the selection process. However, the committee is concerned at attempts that have been made to influence the outcome of the process over recent days. The committee believes that these events have undermined the integrity of the process and potentially affected our ability to attract a new manager.
“In addition, some of the public commentary on social media has been extremely unhelpful.”
