McEnaney dispute may spark Farney player revolt

THE rift in Monaghan football between the county’s players and board officials widened further last night, with defender Damien Freeman calling on the board to coax Seamus McEnaney back into the frame for the county senior manager post, after McEnaney earlier yesterday revealed he will not be going forward for nomination for the 2011 season.

The Monaghan squad are set to have a team meeting to discuss their next move in the ongoing impasse, but will likely have to wait until next week before convening due to players’ involvement in club championship fixtures.

McEnaney’s decision to rule himself out of the race is a massive blow to the Monaghan squad, and could lead to a raft of retirements from long-serving members of their panel. Freeman last night accused the county board of sending ‘mixed signals’ to McEnaney in recent weeks and urged leading officials to contact McEnaney in an effort to entice him back to the fold.

“We’re just going to meet up as a group of players to see where we go from here. The clubs in Monaghan are pretty busy at the minute this week preparing for championship matches, so we’re probably going to wait until next week to meet.

“We have to discuss what we need to do as a group but personally I’d like to see the county board go back to Seamus and reconsider things. I think for anybody looking at it, they have been sending him mixed signals. They were backing him for the job one minute and then changed their minds the next.

“We’re very disappointed by it and I think we’ve lost one of the top management groups in Seamus, Paul Grimley, Martin McElkennon and Adrian Trappe. Seamus brought this county up from number 28 in the country to competing with the top boys. We’d a really tight unit for the last six years and a lot of that was down to Seamus.”

McEnaney had looked certain to be installed as Monaghan manager for another three years before last week’s announcement by the county board that they were set to seek nominations for the position. The move prompted McEnaney to reconsider his position and he released an official statement yesterday stating his withdrawal.

“I am confirming that I will not have my name submitted as a nominee and I believe that this is in the best interest of Monaghan football. I would like to thank the Monaghan County Board and in particular John Connolly, the chairman who gave me the opportunity to manage my native county team.

“I am leaving with a lifetime of memories from the good days and bad. I was one of only 20 Monaghan supporters in Carlow for a NFL game in February 2004 and to witness 20,000 Monaghan supporters in Clones in July 2010 highlights the incredible work these players have done.

“I would like to offer my sincere thanks to this group of players as their commitment, endeavour, attitude and loyalty to the progress of Monaghan football over the last six years has been enormous. The players are the jewel in the crown. We, as a management team strived to give them the best so that they could get the best out of themselves. We built and shared a special bond.

“I would encourage everybody concerned to move on and continue to make further progress as the progression of Monaghan football is of the upmost importance at this time.”