Former Meath boss Andy McEntee is set to be appointed as the new Antrim senior football manager.
Clubs in Antrim will be asked to ratify his appointment at a virtual meeting tonight (Monday).
McEntee managed the Royals for six years, but opted against seeking another term after Meath’s season came to an end following their All-Ireland SFC Qualifier loss to Clare last month.
According to BBC Sport NI, his appointment has been approved by the Antrim county board and the decision is expected to be rubber-stamped by the clubs.
If approved, he’d succeed Tyrone legend Enda McGinley to the role after the Errigal Ciaran native quit after two years in the position.
McGinley had led Antrim to promotion from Division Four in his first season in charge and they retained their Division Three status in the spring having been in contention for promotion.
However, the Saffron endured a difficult Championship campaign. After winning the right to host their Ulster SFC quarter-final meeting with Cavan at their Corrigan Park home, they were subsequently beaten 1-20 to 0-10 with a number of key players stepping away from the panel before and after the Cavan game.
McGinley stepped down following the 2-14 to 1-12 Tailteann Cup loss to Leitrim in Carrick-on-Shannon.
It is understood that McGinley’s assistant, former Tyrone star Stephen O’Neill, was approached about the possibility of remaining on in some capacity, but declined.
While McEntee’s appointment might come as a surprise to some in Antrim, he brings a wealth of managerial experience to the role.
In his time with Meath, he guided them to promotion back to Division One in 2019 for the first since the 2006 campaign. Meath also reached successive Leinster finals in 2018 and 2019, but lost out to Dublin on both occasions.
McEntee recently told the BBC that social media is helping to push managers away from inter-county jobs, in the wake of abuse directed at him and some of his family members.
“One of the problems with all of the social media attention is that it (inter-county management) is becoming less and less attractive unless of course you’re getting well paid for it," he said.
“Yes, there are good days and the good days are great, but you have to weigh it up and think is it worth all of this?
“There’s an awful lot of lads both in club and county saying that the balance is wrong at the moment.”
Before taking on the Meath job, he managed Dublin club Ballyboden St Enda’s to the All-Ireland Club SFC title in 2016.
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