Banner boss ‘optimistic’ on dispute
His comments come after Tuesday night’s board meeting where delegates decided that the parties should meet at round-table talks, with O’Neill and two independent individuals of his choosing, acting as arbiters.
The background to the row has been simmering for the past month when players informed the board that they no longer had faith in the trio of McNamara, Ollie Baker and Alan Cunningham for the 2010 season after a disastrous league and championship this year.
After an unsigned letter, outlining their stance, was not read out a scheduled meeting, the squad met again and voted 26-1 against the three remaining on the sideline for the next year. Another letter to the board was drafted – signed by all those present at the meeting – and this document was read out a meeting of the county board in Ennis this week.
However, delegates refused to call for McNamara’s head and instead are confident a resolution can be found.
The chairman admitted that the damage can be undone: O’Neill said: “I’m optimistic, tentatively optimistic. I am still hopeful from my own soundings.
“I hope that when we all sit down and thrash things out, we can reach a resolution.
“One thing I can categorically say – Mike McNamara holds no grudge against any player, neither does Ollie Baker nor Alan Cunningham.
“They’re quite happy to sit down and talk about any problems the players may have. And that’s why I think the players put the cart before the horse in holding that meeting and that vote while efforts were just getting started to sort things out. We can’t do anything about that now, but if we can put that vote behind us, start afresh, it can still be done.”
O’Neill’s reasons for optimism are based on the discussions he had with a number of players before that fateful squad meeting. While he wouldn’t say who said what – all discussions were strictly confidential – he could reveal that things didn’t seem as set in stone as may appear from that vote.
“To be truthful, from those I spoke to there didn’t seem to be any major complaint, and the letter didn’t reveal anything either. That’s not to say that there isn’t a problem – there is, obviously, but most of those I spoke to didn’t seem to too bothered, which makes this all the more confusing, for want of a better word.”
Ah yes, the letter – before long-serving secretary Pat Fitzgerald read it out, he offered a synopsis, which led most of us there to believe that this was going to be a bit of a tome. The synopsis, however, was almost longer than the letter, which merely stated that a vote had been held, 26 to 1 against the management team, and they wanted the delegates to be informed of that.
Those same delegates, however, were left confused – why were the players unhappy? Were they calling for changes within the management team or a total change, for Mike McNamara’s two-year term to be cut off halfway through? O’Neill continued: “You can take it now that there will be round-table talks within the next week, it’s just a matter of finding a date that suits everyone.
“Definitely, there is a sense of urgency, I’ll be putting pen to paper myself tonight to see what I can come up with.
“But you can take it that this won’t be dragging on; whatever will happen will happen within the next week to ten days – the maximum is two weeks. But that, for me, is even too long.”
Meanwhile former Clare boss Ger Loughnane has called for a quick resolution to the crisis
“All sides have to realise now they are in a hole and the first thing they should do is stop digging,” Loughnane said on RTE Radio.
Loughnane, who managed the Banner to All-Ireland titles in 1995 and ‘97 with McNamara as trainer, said all involved must realise that “unlike in Cork, we cannot afford the type of uprising there was in Cork going right through the winter. That is what we are facing unless a compromise is reached very quickly.”
He blamed the board for allowing the controversy to rumble on but added that the players will “lose the propaganda war. They are not in a position of strength – not like the Cork players, they do not have All-Ireland medals. Their position is a very, very weak one.”
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