Former Kilkenny City manager Joe McGrath has emerged from the pack as favourite to take over the vacant manager's seat at the club.

Kilkenny's board have decided not to rush into a decision after Pat Byrne stepped down last week - but McGrath has all the credentials for the job and he is a firm favourite with the Cats fans.

McGrath managed Kilkenny in the early '90s leading them to an FAI Cup semi-final and a whisker away from promotion.

He then went off to broaden his horizons by becoming the New Zealand manager. His time with New Zealand was a successful one but he had it in his heart to return to Ireland and this was a decision he would later regret.

He took the manager's job at Dalymount Park with a struggling Bohemians side and after only six games into his reign he got the bullet.

Court cases followed in one of the messier times in Irish football over the last couple of years but now Joe feels ready to return to action with the Cats.