Philly McMahon has confirmed that he was offered the Derry senior football manager’s post last autumn.

Speaking on The GAA Social podcast, the Dublin All-Ireland SFC winning defender and BBC NI pundit explained how he was close to taking the job before it was eventually filled by Paddy Tally after a four-month search for Mickey Harte’s successor.

“I met the guys behind-the-scenes from Derry, they came down to me and offered me the job, and I had to go through a couple of things. I had to get the right people with me, I had to speak to my wife, I have a three-year-old, so they were a priority first of all,” he said.

“I spoke to a couple of bodies that I had interest in coming in, and I was basically a couple of days from giving the last decision, and the guys I was talking to said ‘Paddy's interested in taking the job’. I just said to the guys, 'if there is someone who is 100% in, you are better off giving it to them'.”

McMahon didn’t rule out taking another inter-county job in the future, adding: “It was a very interesting opportunity, the support behind-the-scenes seemed really good and that's what enticed me. Maybe it's set me up for the next opportunity.

“I'd like to try [county management]. I'm really passionate about performance coaching and that's kind of management in itself. My career is in the fitness industry, managing people, trying to get the best out of people, and that's what I think as a coach and a manager you have to do.”

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