Philly McMahon lands first management job with Naas senior footballers

DUBLIN EIGHT-TIME ALL-IRELAND winner Philly McMahon is set to take his first step into management with the Naas senior footballers.

McMahon’s appointment has been confirmed to The 42 by the Kildare club, with the former star defender taking over from next week.

The Ballymun Kickhans man retired from inter-county football in 2021 with two All-Stars, 12 Leinster titles and five National League honours on top of the eight All-Irelands.

McMahon, 37, has been linked with various jobs over the past few years; Mickey Harte’s potential successor at Derry the most high-profile of those.

He has been involved in media and punditry since his inter-county retirement, as well as in Bohemians’ League of Ireland set-up as a performance coach.

Naas have won the last four Kildare senior football championship titles, also reaching the Leinster final in 2021 and 2023 where they were beaten by Kilmacud Crokes.

The Kildare side have been on the hunt for a new manager since Joe Murphy stepped down at the end of March to take charge of his native Carlow. Pádraig Cribben had been interim boss.

Additional reporting by Sinéad Farrell