The Offaly footballers are to fulfil their Allianz League fixture with Tipperary this weekend following the death of Liam Kearns.
The players, management and county board officials, still very much in shock at the sudden passing of the team manager on Sunday, met in Tullamore tonight and it was agreed that they would see out their Division Three campaign as scheduled, starting with the trip to Thurles on Saturday.
However, Offaly are to request that the throw-in time be moved from 6pm to 2pm so that the fixture, which will naturally take quite an emotional toll on them, won’t have such a lengthy build-up on the day. The game will be trying for the Tipperary players too as Mr Kearns was their manager for four seasons up to 2019.
Although he had only been in the job a number of months, the former Limerick and Laois boss had made a very favourable impression on the Offaly squad, with many of the players feeling that his regime was the best that they had played under.
With remaining fixtures against Tipperary and Down, they are still in with a shout of promotion having won three of their five League games.
Selector Martin Murphy is to step up into the managerial role on an interim basis, aided by fellow selector John Rouse and coach Alan Flynn as well as the wider backroom team with the team to regroup on Friday to prepare for the Tipperary game.
Mr Kearns had been at team training on yesterday morning in the Faithful Fields, Offaly’s training facility in Kilcormac, before becoming unwell later in the day and subsequently passing away.
His wake will take place on Wednesday followed by burial in Mungret, Co Limerick on Thursday.
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