Declan Bonner has stated his intention to continue as Donegal senior football manager for a fifth season.
Bonner presented his end of season report to the county executive on Wednesday night, when he also signalled his interest in a new term as manager.
The executive has stated that the position will be open to other candidates though with a tight deadline - this coming Sunday at 5pm - for names to be submitted by the clubs, it appears unlikely that there will be a flurry of submissions and that the path is clear for the 1992 All-Ireland winner to continue in the role, particularly as there appears to be a dearth of alternatives locally.
Bonner delivered Ulster titles in his first two seasons in charge though there has been a tail-off both this year and last as Donegal surprisingly relinquished their provincial crown to Cavan in the decider last November and were eliminated at the semi-final stage by eventual winners Tyrone this summer.
Some expected that Bonner would step away after the Tyrone defeat and, if he did, that coach Stephen Rochford would be the leading contender to replace him but the former Mayo boss is most unlikely to put his name forward against a man that added him to his management team in October 2018.
Meanwhile, Donegal have confirmed that there will be no relegation in their county football leagues this year, though promotion will still apply, and while the county championship will largely proceed as planned, the relegation play-offs will be expanded from four teams to eight to offset any disadvantage that teams may suffer as a result of a Covid-19 outbreak.
Donegal is also to request that the Ulster Council delay the provincial club championship by a week.
The Donegal senior champions are due to play their Derry counterparts in the preliminary round on November 20, with the winners facing the Monaghan kingpins a fortnight later.
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