REPORTS: Davy Fitzgerald to step down as Clare manager

Davy Fitzgerald's five years in charge of the Clare hurlers is at an end.

The Irish Examiner are reporting he is to step down in the next 48 hours, following a meeting of his players on Monday night. On holiday in the United States, a statement is expected from Fitzgerald tomorrow or Wednesday. Despite winning the Allianz League this year the controversial Sixmilebridge clubman will not see out the final year of his term. The two-time All-Ireland winning goalkeeper took over as Banner boss in 2011, leading a young team to an unexpected triumph in 2013 - beating Cork in a dramatic final replay. However since then Championship success has largely eluded Clare, who are yet to return to Croke Park and have only managed wins over Offaly, Laois and Limerick in the past three summers. Galway beat them  2-17 to 0-17 in the All-Ireland quarter-final and the Clare People Tuesday reported that the squad were meeting to discuss Fitzgerald's future. SportsJOE have since confirmed that the players met last night, with the squad divided on whether or not they should keep faith in Fitzgerald. https://twitter.com/clarepeople/status/778186266449960960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Fitzgerald and his backroom team, which includes former Cork keeper Donal Óg Cusack, had one more year to run on their current deal but the Clare People reports "a number of players have indicated they would like to see a change of management for 2017". Fitzgerald has yet to publicly indicate whether or not he intended to take up the final year of his contract, saying he would like to take time following the Galway defeat, which came just days after he was admitted to hospital with a heart problem. Having engendered a strong bond with his players during the 2013 season, cracks did appear, with at least two squad members, when Davy O'Halloran and Nicky O'Connell left the panel following what they perceived to be unfair treatment. Nicky O'Connell subsequently returned to the the panel.

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