County board chairman Peter Carty has declared his hope that Fermanagh will have a new senior football manager in place within a fortnight.
The Erne County have suffered a miserable 2011, with their failure to make any impression in Allianz Football League Division Four compounded by a short championship season that was ended by lowly London in the first round of qualifiers.
The year also saw a whole host of regular first-teamers steer clear of the senior side, many of them not seeing eye-to-eye with manager John O’Neill.
He resigned from his post last month after a tumultuous first year at the helm, with the hope now that Tuesday evening’s meeting of a special sub-committee can help lead to an imminent resolution.
That meeting, set up to oversee the appointment of O’Neill’s successor, will be chaired by Carty, who will be assisted by county board officers Hugh Crudden and Tom Boyle, hurling board representative Peter Bogue and one-time All-Ireland winning manager with Down Pete McGrath
Peter Canavan, Dominic Corrigan, Darren Chapman and Peter Clarke are all believed to be in the running to take on the difficult post, with Carty admitting in the Belfast Telegraph: "It has definitely not been one of Fermanagh's best years.
“But we must now go forward with enthusiasm, confidence and belief.”
Tuesday’s meeting, it is hoped, will weed out any contenders not serious about taking on the job, with it hoped that interviews can be arranged and that a new man can be sworn in within a couple of weeks.