Ó Sé controversy could have been ‘nipped in bud’

FORMER Kerry manager Mickey Ned O’Sullivan believes that the County Board should have handled the Paidi Ó Sé controversy in a much more efficient and pro-active manner.

O’Sullivan, a former team mate of Ó Sé said that the entire issue could have been ‘nipped in the bud’ had a defined conflict management structure been in place.

“There is obviously a need for a County Board proactive policy on conflict management instead of the present reactive one which is clearly not working as we have witnessed over the past three weeks,” O’Sullivan wrote in The Kingdom yesterday.

“When it comes to conflict management, the County Board was clearly found wanting but I will accept that some officials being out of the country on holidays made managing the conflict much more difficult.

“Conflict in sports management is part and parcel of the sporting scene. Conflict can be harnessed for the good of the team if properly managed. In fact, it is an indication that a certain amount of apathy exists within a group is there isn’t some degree of conflict. Difference of opinion is often seen as a healthy sign of morale.

“In team management the first rule of thumb is that as soon as any problem begins to surface it must be addressed immediately.”

O’Sullivan says that this lesson was overlooked by the Board in late December when the first in a series of newspaper interviews appeared.

“In the Kerry set up, cracks began to appear as far back as December 22 when Paidi Ó Sé indicated he had invited Maurice Fitzgerald back into the panel on flexible training terms.

“If this was done without the backing of the selectors there was a need for an immediate meeting of team management to clarify the statements. Obviously it was not addressed at that point. The next interview with Eamon Dunphy added fuel to the fire. Still it was not addressed. This led to the third interview with the Sunday Independent which was the straw which broke the camel’s back.”

The story, according to O’Sullivan then rapidly escalated out of control and developed a ‘life of its own’, much to the detriment of those concerned with Kerry football.

“Once the problem gets into the public domain, it takes on a whole life of its own. The problem then becomes twice as difficult to solve as the media has a whole different agenda.” He admits that the episode has damaged the reputation of Kerry football.

“It has damaged the reputation of Kerry football, the reputation of two our greatest footballers as well as the Kerry County Board. Time will tell whether conflict within the management group resurfaces again during the year or whether the solution to the conflict is permanent.”