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GAA

25th Jul 2023

Current Cavan footballer in surprising shortlist to replace Mickey Graham

Lee Costello

The hunt for the new Cavan manager is drawing to a close.

Cavan are currently looking to find a replacement for Mickey Graham and the team captain Raymond Galligan has reportedly been shortlisted as a potential candidate.

Graham was one of the longest serving managers in the game, and famously guided the county to their first Ulster title in over two decades when they beat Donegal in 2020.

That same season saw them play in Croke Park agains Dublin, who would go on to win the All-Ireland and complete their historic six-in-a-row.

However, they failed to hit those heights in recent years, yo-yoing up and down the leagues, and despite being the favourites to wi the Tailteann Cup last season, they came up short against Westmeath.

Many expected that they would get over the line on the second try, but they exited at the quarter final stages, and Graham stepped away from the role.

Galligan is one of the longest serving players in the inter-county game at 36 years old, and was captain of the team of the last season, showing no indication that he was planning to retire.

Cavan

Whether or not he is interested in going for a player-manager role is unsure, although the classy goalkeeper does hold the respect of the players, and if anyone was going to do this dual role successfully, he is probably the best primed to do so.

Two other names are also in the race as both former Clare manager Micheál McDermott and former Cavan forward Jason O’Reilly have made the final three as well.

According to The Anglo-Celt, the deadline for nominations from the clubs was last night (Sunday) and the trio were nominated by their home clubs Lacken, Shercock and Belturbet.

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