Former Armagh midfielder Neil Smyth is among the nominees to succeed Peter McDonnell as Orchard county boss.

School principal Smyth along with former county players Justin McNulty and Micheal McConville are among those currently in the frame for the post.

There is no guarantee the sub-committee set up with the task of finding a new manager will look outside the Orchard County.

But if they do then former Donegal boss Brian McIver could well figure in their plans.

Once of the most respected coaches in the sport, he was a prime mover in Ballinderry’s 2002 All Ireland club success.

More recently he was linked witth the vacant managerial post in Down

One of the great pluses with McIvor is that he would come to Armagh with no baggage.

Rather he would come with considerable knowledge of club football having previusly managed south Armagh club Dromintee.

The special sub-committee set up under the chairmanship of the Ulster Council’s Dr Eugene Young and comprising county chairman Kevin Brady, secretary Patrick Og Nugent, former county captain Paul McGrane and clubs’ representative Gerry Davidson, met last night to sift through the nominations and lay the groundwork for the interview process.

It is now expected that the interviews will be conducted next week and chairman Brady is confident that the identity of McDonnell’s successor will be known before the end of the month.

The Armagh county board is currently fielding some criticism following the decision of Paul Grimley to join Seamus McEnaney’s management team in Monaghan but Brady insists that the proper selections procedures were being adhered to “with all nominees being treated equally”.

And the chairman is confident that the selection committee will come up with a suitable candidate who can guide Armagh to more success following their capture of seven Ulster titles in the last ten years as well as All Ireland and National League titles.

“We are engaged in the proper process to find a new manager and we have to be seen to be fair to everyone who has been nominated or interested in the post.

“While we know Armagh’s thousands of fans are anxious to discover who the new boss is, it is important that things are done right,” said chairman Brady.