Ollie Baker's two year spell as manager of the Offaly hurlers is over.

In a statement tonight, the Leinster County confirmed the news: "Offaly GAA wishes to sincerely thank him for his work with the county's hurlers over the past two years. He brought his renowned hurling passion to the job and his commitment to, and belief in, hurling in the county was unequivocal."

Offaly GAA Chairman, Padraig Boland, paid tribute to both the man and the manager; "Ollie Baker is a man of the highest integrity and while an extremely formidable negotiator on behalf of his players it was always in an environment of openness and honesty. He displayed tremendous respect for the needs of clubs and was a keen proponent of county players being available to their clubs throughout the year. He gave youth it's chance with numerous championship and league debuts a feature of his tenure, while also offering others a second chance at an inter-county career."

Under Ollie Baker this county retained it's position at the top end of Division 1B despite players from their county champions being unavailable - for very good reason - to him for both league campaigns he managed. While an overdue victory over Wexford was possibly the highlight of Offaly's two championship campaigns, the performances against both Kilkenny and Waterford in 2013 were viewed by many Faithful followers as "missed opportunities" - an indication perhaps of the progress made by Ollie and his backroom team.
"Both championship matches this year illustrated the pride that remains at the core of Offaly hurling, both on and off the field. Failure to close the deal, having done so well to create the opportunity, is possibly more about lack of individual inner belief than any lack of ability or capacity," according to Boland.

The chairman is keen to acknowledge the contribution of the outgoing management team and its players - "at a time when many potential Offaly players were unavailable for selection and the engagement of personnel to support the efforts of players wasn't always easy I sincerely thank all those who gave such commitment to Offaly over the past two years. The sacrifices required of our players and management are the same as for this year's All Ireland finalists, both of whom we've pushed to their limits over the past two years. I sincerely thank each player and management team member for that sacrifice and their immense contribution to Offaly hurling. In particular I want to thank Ollie Baker and to wish him, Michelle and their young family all the very best for the future." Tweet

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