Aidan O'Rourke to step down as Donegal manager

Aidan O'Rourke has stepped down as Donegal manager in the wake of their All-Ireland SFC preliminary quarter-final loss to Tyrone on Saturday.

O'Rourke was installed as interim manager following the departure of Paddy Carr in March. He had been serving as head coach before Carr left following a meeting with senior players after a patchy start to the year.

That led to O'Rourke taking on the role for the rest of the inter-county season, with former Derry attacker Paddy Bradley acting as his assistant.

Donegal's championship fizzled out as Tyrone eased to a 1-18 to 0-13 win in Ballybofey.

Afterwards, O'Rourke told The Irish News that he would not be continuing in the position.

"Listen, halfway through the season we were asked to take on a job to try and support the players," he said.

"We've done what was asked of us and we’ve done it to the best of our ability and we’re happy to hand it back now for Donegal to find a Donegal solution.

"There's a brilliant group of lads there. They are driven and they want to progress and you couldn’t have asked for any more from them on the pitch.

"That aspect of things is the bit I love about it. Once you’re on the pitch with the players and everyone’s focused, that really was enjoyable.

"There’s a lot of quality there, a lot of emerging quality too that needs moulding."