MALACHY O’Rourke was keeping his cards close to his chest on Sunday night, amid growing speculation linking him with the vacant Tyrone manager’s post.
The Glen boss politely declined to speak to The Irish News following Glen’s Derry championship victory over Swatragh, with backroom team member Johnny Bradley nominated to do the talking in his place.
It comes after The Irish News revealed on Thursday that O’Rourke had given permission for his adopted club Errigal Ciaran to put his name forward for the role vacated by All-Ireland winning managers Brian Dooher and Feargal Logan last week.
“It’s nothing really new,” said Bradley after Glen’s three-point victory at Davitt Park.
“I think every year, with the club championships starting and the inter-county finishing, Malachy’s always been linked with county jobs. So it’s nothing really new, but we know ourselves it’s just about putting our heads down and working really hard.
“Nothing changes on that front, really.”
As for his own experience of working as part of this Glen management team, Bradley – who insisted the speculation surrounding O’Rourke’s future hadn’t been discussed during recent days – added: “He’s an incredible person, him and Ryan [Porter] as well.
“His knowledge of the game and the way he treats players, the way he manages players… he has taken us to three Derry championships, two Ulsters and an All-Ireland title, so he’s obviously not too bad.”
O’Rourke, who has lived in Ballygawley since the 1990s and won Tyrone titles with Errigal Ciaran as a player in 1997 and then as manager in a one-year stint in 2006, is heavy favourite to take over the Red Hands following Dooher and Logan’s exit after four years.
The former Fermanagh and Monaghan boss has also been nominated for the Derry job, but the fact nominations closed more over five weeks ago suggests that link has cooled.
Given O’Rourke’s record, it is no wonder he is in such demand.
The Derrylin native led Fermanagh to the 2008 Ulster final when they could, probably should, have beaten Armagh before losing out after a replay.
And then, during a successful seven-year spell in charge of Monaghan, they won two Ulster titles – the first in 2013, after beating Jim McGuinness’s reigning All-Ireland champions Donegal, ending the Farney’s 25-year wait for the Anglo-Celt Cup.
If O’Rourke does take over in Tyrone, he would follow in the footsteps of John Donnelly, a Fermanagh native who became a rare outside manager for the Red Hands when he was appointed in 1989.
If Tyrone can snare O’Rourke they will also deal a blow to their neighbours Derry, who still harbour hopes of his interest and have courted his services on several occasions in recent years.
There is no guarantee that he will take either job, and the decision to accept a nomination is only an indication that he is willing to speak to Tyrone about the position.
The retired schoolteacher has spoken to several counties about vacant positions during recent years, including Derry last year and Donegal two seasons ago, but has yet to be tempted back into inter-county football.
