DOWN champions Portaferry remain on the hunt for a new management team as they attempt to retain the Jeremiah MacVeagh Cup for the first time since 2001-2002.

The Ports won the county title for the first time since 2014 under Gary Smyth and Peter Mallon last season, and applications for the post close next Wednesday.

Ballycran were the side Portaferry defeated in this year’s replayed final, and they have already installed a new management team for the year ahead.

Jamie Fowler and James Henry Hughes will take over the side this year, while the club has appointed Catherine McGourty as their camogie boss.

Fowler and Hughes have worked with a number of Ballycran management teams in the past. Chris Clarke, Dermot Woods and Philip McCarthy will make up their management team.

““Things could be very different this year with regards to the fixtures timetabling,” Hughes told the Ballycran website. “ In the meantime we will have to keep the squad focussed until we have clarity and we’ll also take the opportunity to get a few friendly matches in too.”

Bredagh, who earned a shock round-robin win over Ballycran in last year’s championship, are unsurprisingly staying with the same management team of Danny Hughes and Donal Sheehan.