BRIAN FLANAGAN WILL be ratified as the new Kildare senior football manager by the county board when they have their monthly meeting on 3, September.

Since Glen Ryan’s departure, the feeling was always that Flanagan, with significant underage success with the county in recent years, would get the job. But there was also some speculation that Mickey Harte, with links to the county, might have come under consideration.

Kildare now begin life in National League Division 3 in 2025, and run the risk of losing out on a place in the Sam Maguire if they cannot arrest their slide.

Flanagan will have the support of many however, based on his recent achievements in guiding the Lilywhites to the U20 Leinster title in 2022 and 2023, the second triumph topped with the All Ireland title.

There was some speculation that former Donegal player Michael Murphy could be part of the backroom, but that appears not to be the case.

Those confirmed as part of the backroom include the widely-travelled Aidan O’Rourke – who had a spell in the county under Kieran McGeeney – Damien Hendy and Daryl Flynn.