Process begins to find next Tipp boss

Tipperary County Board hope to have a new senior hurling manager in place for the latter stages of the county championships after Michael Ryan stepped down as manager.

The news caught everyone by surprise last Thursday when the Upperchurch/Drombane clubman and his selectors Declan Fanning, John Madden and Conor Stakelum announced they would not be continuing in their roles despite having two years left on their terms.

In a carefully worded statement, Ryan felt the decision was “is in the best interest of Tipperary hurling and our current crop of players we believe the time is now right for a change of direction at management level.

“It is our hope that a change in management will bring fresh new thinking to ensure Tipperary continues to compete for top honours in the coming years.”

Almost immediately speculation began about who might succeed Ryan as Tipperary manager with that process set to begin this Thursday night when the County Board Executive meet for the first time since the announcement to put in place a process to select the next manager.