PROFESSIONAL…Peter Canavan has been described as professional and ‘top drawer’ by his former players
Peter Canavan has stepped down as Fermanagh manager stating that with a ‘clear vision and united county committee’ he expects the players to respond positively in the coming years.
In a statement released he has praised the Fermanagh players describing them as a ‘fully committed, unified and ambitious’ group who ‘deserve the best’. He went on to say that he hoped that the county committee would ‘ensure’ they receive the this in the future.
His decision to resign comes as something of a surprise as it was expected that he would see out a third year in the Fermanagh hot seat. Taking over in late 2011 Canavan healed a serious rift that had emerged among some players following the tenure of John O’Neill. He led Fermanagh to promotion from division four in his first year and almost secured back to back promotions but defeat to Meath in the last game of the league denied his team a place in division two.
In the Championship he had a record of one win in five when his team shocked a fancied Westmeath this season in the All Ireland qualifiers but there was also two defeats to Cavan in this years championship.
Canavan thanked a number of people for the support he had been given in the job before asserting that there had been significant progress made with the players over his two years in charge;
“I wish to thank the former Chairman, Peter Carty, and the current Chairman (Patsy Dolan) for placing their faith in me and my management team to lead the County Senior Team for the past 2 years. I also wish to thank all those people who have supported the County Committee, in various ways, to allow me to carry out the task of managing the County Team to the best of my ability. This includes all those genuine supporters who travelled all over Ireland to support the team.
My management team and I have worked extremely hard over the past two years and we believe significant progress has been made.”
He also said that he believed that the players would continue to respond in a positive manner but that they needed a ‘a clear vision and a united county committee.’
Referring to the players commitment and how dealt with off the field tragedies the two time All Ireland winner spoke of their willingness to work and outstanding maturity;
“The players’ commitment, attitude, willingness to work and improve themselves deserves special mention. Also in dealing with very difficult and sad issues off the field they displayed maturity and outstanding loyalty to their team mate and friend.”
The Fermanagh County Committee also issued a statement following Canavan’s resignation;
“Fermanagh County Committee thank Peter and his entire backroom team for all their hard work and commitment over the last two years and acknowledge the progress made in respect of their work with the county team. Peter took over the team at a very difficult time and during his period as manager worked extremely hard to develop a united panel of players leaving the county well placed to meet the challenges of county football in the years ahead.”
The search must now begin for a replacement to Canavan and there is already speculation that Peter McGinnity would be one candidate that could be sought to throw his name into the ring for the job.