Holleran rejects player power claims

THE chairman of Galway Football Board has rejected reports that Liam Sammon was forced to step down as manager because of player power.

John Joe Holleran said that suggestions that Sammon was forced out by players were ‘insulting’ and ‘wide of the mark’. He said that the time involved was the biggest factor and that after two years he did not wish to continue.

“It was Liam’s decision to step down and his alone. The football board would have been delighted if he had remained but he wanted to step down and we respect that.

“It is absolute rubbish to say that player power had anything to do with this. I don’t know where that notion came from. It’s insulting to a man of Liam’s stature, and to the respect in which he is held by people in Galway.

“Liam made up his mind and on Wednesday and, with just a few hours notice, 27 of the 30 players in the squad managed to make it to the meeting. Of the three who could not make it, one was abroad, one was sick and one was work-tied.

“Liam spoke passionately to them, told them why he wanted to step down and that he was available to any them, at any time, if he could help them with football or any other part of their lives. There was no sour grapes and this nonsense about player power is very wide of the mark.’’