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Hanging On

Royal mess: 'Banty' sympathisers might give him the numbers to survive

The negative reaction to Meath’s managerial muddle might by Seamus McEnaney’s lifeline, according to one county board insider.

SEAMUS MCENANEY CAN only be removed as manager of Meath if two-thirds of the clubs represented next Wednesday night decide to vote him out.

“Banty” came under further pressure to quit this morning when county bosses said they would recommend the termination of his contract at a meeting of the full county committee next Wednesday, 18 April, and propose that Sean Boylan come in as his replacement.

But as McEnaney was appointed to a two-year term by the county committee in November 2010, they will need a two-thirds majority to reverse it.

“They may have been acting on a  recommendation from the interviewing panel but they had to formally make the decision and they did,” one long-serving county board delegate told TheScore.ie. “No matter what way the top table try and twist it they still need a two-thirds majority to get him out.”

The chances are that McEnaney may have the numbers on his side that he needs to survive. In 2005, current chairman Barney Allen was one of two board officers who travelled to Dunboyne and advised Sean Boylan not to stand for re-election as the delegates were already keen on removing him.

“Most of those delegates are still there,” the delegate added. “What has happened since to change their opinion that while Sean was a great Meath manager, he is very much yesterday’s man?”

Backfire

If McEnaney does manage to persuade enough clubs to let him see out the remainder of his term, it could leave Allen and the executive in a precarious position and any attempt to force the matter through may ultimately backfire.

“When Banty got the job there was a democratic process in place. There was an open and transparent look about the whole thing. Now while Banty is still in the job, the executive have offered it to somebody else. That’s not a nice thing to do and it has not sat well with a lot of people.

I can tell you that a number of people who might have wanted Banty out immediately after losing to Louth last Sunday are disgusted over how he has been treated since.

Read: Bye bye Banty, bring back Boylan: Meath move to get rid of McEnaney

Read: (Semi)-final Countdown: here are the Kerry and Mayo teams for Sunday’s meeting

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