By Cathal Dervan

PAIDI O Se made a dramatic entrance as the new Westmeath football team boss as he brought Mullingar to a standstill amidst the great expectations that have followed his appointment as Luke Dempsey’s successor.

The former Kerry supremo flew in by helicopter to officially take charge of the midlands county side on Friday and immediately promised to make a difference.

O Se, sensationally ousted as Kerry boss in acrimonious circumstances a few weeks ago, had the Mullingar crowd eating out of his hands as he followed mentor Mick O’Dwyer to Leinster.

O’Dwyer has won provincial titles with Kildare and Laois since he quit Kerry, and the pressure is now on O Se to deliver a first ever Leinster crown to Westmeath.

He is clearly reveling in that pressure judging by his humor in the county last Friday as he even donned the maroon shirt to the delight of a huge welcoming crowd.

“Ladies and gentlemen, at my last press conference, I made a statement at the outset that it is nice to be amongst your own when the going gets tough. Well, today is a different day for me. It is a day when I’m starting out on a new journey,” said O Se after he was officially unveiled at a press conference in the Greville Arms hotel.

“I am not the type of man that, if things go wrong for me up here, will turn the sword on people here or the players.

“That is not how I do business. I would not have been involved in Kerry football for 33 years if my heart was not in the right place.

“I now want to transfer all my professional allegiance to Westmeath and will endeavor to coach and improve the team and achieve success in the future. 

“Westmeath have come close to achieving success in the past and it’s my intention to give them that extra push that will make all the difference in the future.”

O Se, who guided the Kingdom to two All-Irelands and six Munster crowns in his time as manager, will leave no stone unturned in his bid to break the Westmeath mould.

And he has promised his new charges a rough ride as they look to challenge the likes of Laois and Dublin in Leinster next season.

“It’s is true to say that Kerry have set the standard — they are the Manchester United of Gaelic football, but now I have to look at things differently,” admitted O Se.

“Westmeath can take heart from the fact that the same few counties no longer have a monopoly on the Sam Maguire Cup, with Tyrone and Armagh both winning their first All-Ireland titles in the last two years. 

“Westmeath have gone close to winning big games in the past. I’m not going to set myself up by promising anything, but I will say that I intend do my utmost to bring success to Westmeath. 

“It will mean hard work – that is definitely the key to success on the sporting fields. There are no short cuts to success and I’m confident that when I come here and meet the Westmeath players that they will understand very quickly where I’m coming from and what I want to achieve together with them.”

Celtic’s Miller Has Heart

LIAM Miller continued his push for full international honors with a double strike as Celtic beat Hearts 5-0 on Saturday, 24 hours before Rangers could only manage a 1-1 draw at Motherwell.

Miller’s two goals played a huge part in the emphatic Celtic win, with teammate Jackie McNamara predicting big things to come for the young Corkman.

McNamara said, “We rate Liam so highly – he’s a confident lad, he’s quick, he reads the game well, gets forward and has great distribution.

“It is great for Celtic to see someone like that coming through and it is only a matter of time before he becomes a regular in the first team here.”

Tyrone Top Stars Nods

NEWLY crowned All-Ireland champions Tyrone dominate the nomination list for the 2003 all-stars, with 14 of their team on the 45 strong list including captain Peter Canavan, going for a fifth honor. Beaten finalists Armagh have nine players nominated. Leinster champions Laois have six players nominated.

The full list is – Goalkeepers: Fergal Byron (Laois), Shane Curran (Roscommon), Enda Murphy (Kildare).

Defenders: Francie Bellew (Armagh), Enda McNulty (Armagh), Kieran McGeeney (Armagh), Andrew McCann (Armagh), Cormac McAnallen (Tyrone), Ryan McMenamin (Tyrone), Conor Gormley (Tyrone), Ciaran Gourley (Tyrone), Philip Jordan (Tyrone), Niall McCready (Donegal), Raymond Sweeney (Donegal), Kevin Cassidy (Donegal), Joe Higgins (Laois), Tom Kelly (Laois), Paddy Christie (Dublin), Barry Owens (Fermanagh), Declan Meehan (Galway), Tomas O Se (Kerry).

Midfield: Padraig Clancy (Laois), Kevin Hughes (Tyrone), Sean Cavanagh (Tyrone), Philip Loughran (Armagh), Paul McGrane (Armagh), Kevin Walsh (Galway).

Forwards: Brian Dooher (Tyrone), Brian McGuigan (Tyrone), Gerard Cavlan (Tyrone), Enda McGinley (Tyrone), Peter Canavan (Tyrone), Stephen O’Neill (Tyrone), Eoin Mulligan (Tyrone), John McEntee (Armagh), Diarmuid Marsden (Armagh), Steven McDonnell (Armagh), Brian McDonald (Laois)

Ross Munnelly (Laois), Ciaran McManus (Offaly), Muiris Gavin (Limerick), Declan Browne (Tipperary), Frankie Dolan (Roscommon), Adrian Sweeney (Donegal), Michael Meehan (Galway).

Keane for Goals

ROY Keane believes Phil Neville’s move to central midfield is the reason behind his new goal scoring form after he grabbed the match winner for Manchester United at Leeds on Saturday, his second goal in three games.

Keane has now doubled his tally for last term and claimed, “When we play with Phil in midfield I feel that he will sit there and that allows me the opportunity to get into the box.

“I have always felt I should get a few more goals but over the last couple of years they have dried up so it is always nice to score.”

United have made their best ever start to a Premiership season but are currently second to Arsenal in the table, and Keane says there is room for improvement from the English champions.

“I don’t think we are firing on all cylinders, far from it,” said the Old Trafford skipper.

“We are doing well and we are grinding out results, but while I have been at the club I have always found it takes a month or two to get going. But we are getting the results and hopefully there is still plenty to come from the team.”

New Start for Offaly

THE new Offaly football team boss Gerry Fahey has promised a fresh start for every player on the county panel after the furore surrounding the sacking of previous boss Paul O’Kelly.

Fahey, a former Galway trainer and selector, is a surprise choice to replace O’Kelly, sacked after less than a year in charge.

The Offaly players spoke out in favor of O’Kelly after his dismissal, but Fahey insists he will bear no grudges when he begins work next month.

He said, “I have no agenda and the slate is clean. I want to meet the chairmen of the all the clubs and I intend doing so over the next week.

“The most important thing is that the players are playing in a competitive environment. I see this competition coming from the players being involved with their clubs.”

Rover Flunks Drug Test

IRISH soccer was rocked by a drug crisis on Monday when the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) confirmed that a player, believed to be Shamrock Rovers goalkeeper Barry Ryan, tested positive for a banned substance in both A and B samples.

The player’s case has been referred by the FAI to the Independent Doping Tribunal made up of a senior legal practitioner, a medical practitioner and a sports administrator.

The tribunal will now decide if a doping offence has taken place and what punishment will be imposed if their decision is positive.

GAA Proposals on Tap

THE GAA have proposed dramatic changes to the format of the hurling championship and the introduction of a special football competition for weaker counties as part of a new blueprint unveiled last Friday.

The changes, to go before congress next April with a view to a start in 2005, include a new round robin championship in hurling to run in tandem with the provincial series.

Under the new proposals, which would replace the current backdoor system, the three teams from Leinster and Munster who don’t reach the provincial finals will join Galway and the Ulster champions in an All-Ireland qualifier.

Those teams will then playoff to find the four All-Ireland quarterfinalists who will join the provincial finalists in the last eight.

The proposal also includes provision for relegation and promotion to and from the intermediate grade.

Soccer Shorts

SHAY Given has received the ultimate accolade from Newcastle United boss Bobby Robson, who has rated the Donegal native as “the best goalkeeper I have ever worked with.” Former England boss Robson counts Peter Shilton, Ray Clemence and Vitor Baia as past pupils, but hailed Given as the best ever after a series of stunning saves in Saturday’s derby win over Middlesbrough. Given, meanwhile, will return to the scene of his Irish nightmare when the Magpies face FC Basel in the next round of the UEFA Cup . . .

LEE Carsley faces a month on the sidelines after the Republic of Ireland midfielder aggravated a long standing knee injury in Everton’s scoreless draw with Southampton on Sunday. “Lee sustained some medial ligament damage in the game against Southampton and it looks like it is a recurrence of the injury he had in pre-season,” revealed Everton boss David Moyes . . .

THE mighty Italians have offered the FAI a home or away friendly fixture in November as they look to next summer’s European Championship finals in Portugal. Irish boss Brian Kerr is believed to favor a trip to Italy, with Naples and Cagliari mooted as possible venues . . .

NOTTINGHAM Forest’s Irish winger Andy Reid continued his goal scoring spree with another goal as his side beat Wimbledon 6-0 at the City Ground on Saturday.

GAA Shorts

FORMER All-Ireland winning goalkeeper Ken Hogan is the clear favorite to become the new Tipperary senior hurling manager. Hogan was previously a selector under Fr. Tom Fogarty and Nicky English and is seen as a popular choice with players and fans alike . . .

MEATH forward Trevor Giles was a late withdrawal from the Irish squad for the Compromise Rules series against Australia which opens in Perth on Friday night. Ireland boss John O’Keeffe called Dublin’s Shane Ryan into the panel at the last minute ahead of the trip down under last Saturday.