Benny Coulter says the Down county board will have a tough job finding a suitable replacement for Jim McCorry.

McCorry stepped down after just one season as manager last Thursday, and Coulter - who isn't ruling himself out of being involved in the new management - believes there are "no standout candidates".

"I was surprised that Jim McCorry stepped down, I honestly thought he would have stayed on for at least another year. But at the end of the day the county has to come together and start trying to win games and start pushing forward," the former All Star wrote in his Newry Democrat column.

"We need to build for the future, push on and start pulling in the one direction. At the minute there seems to be a lot of recriminations and pointing the finger of who is to blame. Some people think that Jim shouldn't have walked away, others believed resigning was the only dignified thing to do and others square the blame at the Down county board.

"There are no standout candidates in my mind. There are the usual names being talked about such as Burren manager Sean Ward, Down legend Mickey Linden, 'Shorty' Trainor and 'Wee' Pete (McGrath).

"They could go back to Tony McEntee, Gareth O'Neill and Seamus McGeough. I am not sure if it is viable to do that or not, but probably worth a shot as if McEntee was approached I am confident he would talk to them.

"If I was asked to become involved in the Down management I wouldn't say no but I am probably too young and I am enjoying playing but if the call came - who knows?

"Down have some great players, but we need to get the right men and right structures in place."

Coulter added: "Whoever comes in to replace McCorry will have a tough year. Next season Down will be playing Kerry, Dublin, Cork and Mayo in Division 1 of the National League and it is going to be a difficult season."

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