With the Donegal county board executive having eventually given John Joe Doherty the meeting with the selection committee that he requested when he was offered the manager's job almost fortnight ago, Declan Bonner and Charlie Mulgrew will also get their chance.
Bonner and Mulgrew will stake their claim at tomorrow night's meeting of the county executive. The pair were expected to be ratified as joint-managers at last Wednesday's sitting of the county committee, only for the club delegates to vote in favour of Doherty being allowed to meet with the executive, as he had been the first choice for the job.
Doherty's meeting with the five-man committee, which is comprised of chairman Sean Kelly, secretary Charlie O'Donnell, treasurer Charlie Cannon, former manager PJ McGowan and former player Sean Ferriter, is reported to have been amicable. Doherty, though, was unwilling to comment on the matter in any great depth, but did say that he was 'reasonably happy' with the course the meeting took.
'As mandated, the selection committee have met the wishes of the county committee and have met John Joe Doherty,' Kelly said last night. 'The selection committee will now consider the deliberations of that meeting over the next week or two.'
After discussions with Bonner and Mulgrew there will be a specially convened meeting of the county committee. Although there is no official date set for this as yet, it is rumoured that it may occur on 3 November, which, ironically, was the initial date set for the ratification to take place, before it was brought forward to Wednesday last. There will not be an announcement until, at the earliest, after that meeting.
