Search for new Westmeath football manager goes on

Westmeath GAA chairman Frank Mescall has said that the search for a new Westmeath senior football manager is an ongoing process.

The Lake County are without a manager since Dessie Dolan stepped aside after this year’s championship and they remain in limbo, with several candidates turning down the position over the past two months.

“We appreciate that it’s very frustrating and upsetting for supporters, but we are determined to get the best candidate to manage our senior footballers, who have made great strides in recent years. They deserve a top class manager and we want the very best for them,” said Mescall earlier this week..

Speculation was rife regarding the potential appointment of Lar Wall, who managed The Downs two years ago when they reached a Leinster club final, but the chairman offered no comment with regards to names.

Wall was an interested spectator as The Downs overcame Coralstown/Kinnegad in Saturday's semi-final at TEG Cusack Park. He worked with the Roscommon backroom team this year under manager Davy Burke, and was a candidate for the vacant Meath manager's position which eventually went to Robbie Brennan.

“We are still talking to people and it would be totally unfair to comment on speculation,” said Mescall.

Finding a manager has proven to be a very exhaustive process. Westmeath lost to Derry on June 15 and Dolan’s resignation was confirmed on August 9.

“The committee is working extremely hard on this and it is not an easy task. We have spoken to a number of people, but we have not yet managed to get someone suitable in place. I thought a few weeks ago that we might be in a position to make a proposal, but that was not the case,” Mescall continued.

“The people we are targeting have a lot of commitments and it is proving to be a considerable challenge, but we are asking people to be just a bit more patient. I accept it’s not ideal and we would have liked to have someone in place for the knockout stages of the football championships, but we do want to get the best possible candidate for the position.”

The process was shrouded in controversy when Football Committee chairman Mick Mannion resigned, leaving a committee of Frank Mescall, former manager Jack Cooney and county secretary Brendan Shaw to continue their search. Whoever the new manager is, an internal appointment is most unlikely at this stage.

Westmeath, Clare and Derry and are the three counties who have yet to appoint a new football manager for the 2025 season.