Ger Loughnane is facing opposition from Portumna's double All-Ireland club winning boss Jimmy Heverin in his bid to retain the Galway hurling manager's post. And Heverin, who led Portumna to their second All-Ireland club title in three years on St. Patrick's Day, will be assisted by former Galway star Anthony Cunningham if he gets the job. Cunningham has made a name for himself in recent years as manager of Roscommon football kingpins St. Brigid's, who he guided to a Connacht club title two years ago. Loughnane, whose future with the Tribesmen has been in doubt since the All-Ireland qualifier loss to Cork in July, must go before the Galway hurling board in a few weeks to be ratified for a third year. The first real alternative to Loughnane emerged last week when Offaly's 1998 All-Ireland winning manager Michael Bond declared an interest. He has assembled a high-profile management team which includes Galway legends Joe Cooney, Steve Mahon and Michael Coleman. Heverin said: "I did not want to declare an interest until the ratification process was heard but it seems there are no shortage of people interested in the job so we had to declare our intentions. "Ger's future has yet to be decided but we (Galway) need to start planning for next summer and the years ahead. There is no quick-fix solution to this." Tweet

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