KILDARE COUNTY Board chairman Syl Merrins said yesterday that he is confident manager Kieran McGeeney and his backroom team will remain at the Lilywhites helm for at least another 12 months.

The former Armagh captain and his fellow selectors, Paul Grimley and Niall Carew, were appointed for a three-year term when they took over from previous team boss John Crofton in September 2007.

And despite the acute disappointment of Sunday’s two-point loss to Tyrone in the All-Ireland quarter-final, Merrins feels it’s almost certain that McGeeney and his selectors will stay on.

“We probably won’t be talking to Kieran, Paul and Niall about next year for another few weeks to give the dust time to settle after the match,” explained Merrins.

“But they have the option of staying on for another year, and we’d be very optimistic that they’d take this up.

“Obviously, like all of us, the three lads are very disappointed at losing the match to Tyrone, but at the same time I’m sure they will have been very encouraged by the team’s performance.”