Hyland steps down as Cavan manager

Terry Hyland has stepped down from his position as manager of the Cavan senior footballers.

Hyland was appointed in April 2012, succeeding Val Andrews, and during his five years at the helm he guided the Breffni County from Division 3 of the Allianz Football League to Division 1 as well as the All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals in his first season in charge.

However, progress in the Championship has been slow with Cavan bowing out to Derry in the qualifiers last month after a ten-point defeat to Tyrone in the Ulster SFC semi-final replay.

"Cavan has come on a lot in the last four-and-a-half years. We went from just been a kick of the ball way from been in Division 4 to now been in Division 1," Hyland explained to RTE Radio. "The graph has been rising for the players."

"Part of the strategy with the county board when we sat down with them at start was to make sure that we brought groups of players through at a time and blended them in with the existing panels," he outlined.

"That has proved successful during my term and it's important that Cavan keep doing that. I think other counties have now adopted the same scenario."

He added: "The decision is a tough one as my heart and my love has always been for Cavan football.

"I'm 57 years of age now and I started playing football when I was 11 and haven't missed a year of involvement since.

"I'm sad to be leaving the lads. I enjoy working with young people and it's been good for me during the down times at work to see how they've succeeded and moved on."

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