Offaly footballers make list of demands

THE Offaly senior football panel met last night in Tullamore to formulate a list of proposals which the county board will discuss tonight.

County chairman Tommy Byrne had asked captain Ciaran McManus to compile the panel's list of complaints and demands so both parties would know where the other stood. That means it will be at least Friday before any progress can be realistically made.

"With the players meeting among themselves and the county board meeting [tonight] there's really nothing more to be said until then," said county PRO Pat Teehan yesterday.

"Hopefully, everything will be a lot clearer after that and we can start to work things out."

In the wake of the continuing crisis in Offaly, GAA president Sean Kelly has called on counties to re-examine how they appoint their senior football and hurling managers.

Paul O'Kelly and Gerry Fahy managed only 20 months between them with the Offaly footballers, but that isn't a phenomenon unique to just the one county by any stretch of the imagination.

"It's unfortunate. Obviously, you don't want to see that hassle," Kelly said in Croke Park yesterday. "It's a sad time. One of the key questions I would ask is about the way counties appoint managers and their contracts - if that's the right word to use."

The former Munster Council chairman also called for greater communication between county boards, management teams and players in response to this week's crisis in Offaly where both Gerry Fahy and Mike McNamara have stepped down and the county footballers have gone on strike for the forthcoming season.

"In fairness, county boards are only voluntary workers but I've found players very reasonable as well," said Kelly.

"Once you sit down with players and listen to their points of view, see what's happening, they are very reasonable. This is something that happened and got out of hand a bit. Hopefully they can rein it in and sort it out.

"It's also very important to be clued in to the thinking of players and things like that. Often, things happen that shouldn't happen. It's often due to a lack of understanding and a lack of communication and it does nobody any good when a situation like that arises."

"A few years ago we had the same situation in Cork and now they're All-Ireland champions, which goes to show that they are all loyal to their county. They all want their county to do well. It's just a question of getting a focus on it and finding a path which they will all follow."

So far, Croke Park has had no involvement in the dispute in Offaly but Kelly said a mediator would be available should one be requested. The GPA is also remaining on the sidelines for now, with Dessie Farrell saying it was very much "a local issue".

Meanwhile, Dave Billings has scotched reports that he has thrown his name into the hat to succeed Tommy Lyons as Dublin football manager.

A selector under Lyons for the last three years, UCD's Director of Coaching has overtaken Brian Mullins as favourite for the vacant position but, despite reports saying he had put himself up for consideration for the job, the St Vincent's clubman was adamant that this wasn't the case.

"First of all, it's not a job, it's a past-time. Whoever gets it won't be a Sven Goran Eriksson type earning big money for it. It's a passion," he said when contacted yesterday. "As for the story that my name has gone forward, it's not true at all.

"You'll have to ask John Costelloe what that's all about. We had our term with Tommy and it's all over now. For me, it's not an issue right now, not an issue at all."