Armagh goalkeeper Ethan Rafferty says he was delighted to see Kieran McGeeney retaining his post as Orchard County boss in August.

This past season saw Armagh losing out in the Ulster SFC final to Derry in a penalty shoot-out before suffering the same fate against neighbours Monaghan in the All-Ireland quarter-finals.

Early August would see the county’s clubs and officials voting 46-16 to keep McGeeney at the helm for a 10th season in charge, with the 2002 All-Ireland winning retaining the services of Kieran Donaghy and also adding Derry’s Conleith Gilligan to his backroom team for 2024.

“I can only speak for myself, but I was delighted to see him (McGeeney) staying on. He’s been there for all the years I’ve been there, bar my first year,” Rafferty is quoted saying by BelfastLive.co.uk.

“He’s been brilliant for the county since he took over. I know we haven’t been getting over the line in some big games and people have been raising questions. If you look at where we were when he came in and where we are now - we are pushing for the provincial title again and we’ll hopefully get one in the next year or two. I’m delighted he stayed on.”

On Gilligan’s addition, Rafferty added: “Conleith will bring that freshness from outside. We had that when Kieran Donaghy came in too.

“There’s a real buzz and energy about Conleith. He is a great addition to the management team and I’m looking forward to seeing what fruits we can bear from it.”

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