Fitzgerald brands Fennelly a ‘disaster from day one’

FORMER Laois hurler Tommy Fitzgerald has slammed manager Brendan Fennelly in the wake of Saturday’s 34-point qualifier defeat to Cork.

Fitzgerald, who quit the panel in March, was disappointed by Fennelly’s comments on The Sunday Game as the Kilkenny native pointed the finger of blame at players who refused to make themselves available.

The Portlaoise man, 28, has been a key member of the Laois set-up for almost a decade but walked away after he was taken off against Antrim in the National League and then dropped for the Limerick game in March.

Fitzgerald admitted: “When I left (in March), I wasn’t going well. I wasn’t happy at the time and it was the final nail in the coffin (to be dropped).

“I was left pulling my hair out. There are a few lads on that panel and you wouldn’t get more committed but they’re completely disillusioned. I would have stayed on and been confident of getting my place back if the setup was half decent or even half as good as last year. If you had Niall Rigney or anyone else there I wouldn’t have walked away.”

Fitzgerald is anxious to see Laois progress but insisted that will not happen under Fennelly’s stewardship.

It has emerged that Laois’ preparations since the Leinster SHC defeat against Antrim were poor.

Sources have indicated that just 14 players turned up for a recent challenge against Waterford’s U21s, with goalkeeper Paddy Mullaney forced to line out at corner back with a player taken from Waterford to make up 15.

And just 16 turned up last week for a match against Kilkenny’s intermediates. It is also understood that a row erupted between Fennelly and some players on the night before Laois lost to Down in Ballycran in the League.

And Fitzgerald insisted: “What he said on Sunday night was very unfair to be honest. He’s bang out of order shifting the blame onto the players. I’d lay it squarely on him and the county board for appointing him in the first place. It’s been a disaster from day one. Unless it’s right at the top, you’re going nowhere. Laois against Cork – how better prepared were Cork than Laois? You can only imagine.”

Fitzgerald added: “It was a brilliant set up under Niall Rigney. He was brilliant, so professional, so organised and we had full attendance at training. We felt we were making some progress but then your man comes in and it takes 10 steps backwards. When you’re a player, it’s fierce demoralising when you see that going on. Sure, players have to take a certain amount of responsibility and it’s not all the manager’s fault when you’re beaten like that but the set-up is everything. If you see how poor it is, it’s not even organised properly. It’s a throw-back to years ago.”