Wicklow Allianz Hurling League plans in disarray as management team steps down

Wicklow have been thrown into turmoil just over a week out from the start of their Allianz Hurling League campaign after Casey O'Brien and his management team stood down.

O'Brien’s backroom team of Leighton Glynn, Billy Cuddihy and Graham Keogh are also understood to have departed.

The Garden County had a 2023 to remember as they claimed the Nickey Rackard Cup at Croke Park, having just missed out on a spot in the Division 2B final after a one-point semi-final loss to Donegal.

The Tir Chonaill County provide the opposition again in their league opener on 4 February, leaving a very short window to get a new management team in place.

The side endured a difficult January as they opened their Kehoe Cup with a 4-27 to 0-06 loss to Kildare before withdrawing ahead of scheduled games against Meath and Down.

Only three players - Conor McNally, Sam O’Dowd, Luke Evans – featured in both last year’s Nickey Rackard final and the pre-season opener against Kildare. The unavailability of players is understood to be one of the key reasons for the management team's decision.

Meanwhile, St Brigid's have moved fast to find a new manager after Jerome Stack's decision to step down in the wake of their All-Ireland defeat to Derry side Glen on Sunday.

Former manager Anthony Cunningham will take charge of the Roscommon side for a second time, with Eoin Mooney, James Martin and Niall Kelly joining the former Galway hurling and Rossies' football boss in the management team.

Watch Kerry v Derry in the Allianz Football League on Saturday from 5pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to updates on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1

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