Gardiner: Off-field turbulence won’t deter Offaly

JOHN GARDINER has warned that Offaly will have little difficulty in leaving their off-the-field problems to one side when Cork host them at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in the first round of the All-Ireland hurling qualifiers next Saturday.

The midlands county made headlines for all the wrong reasons recently with manager Joe Dooley writing a stinging letter to the county board detailing his team’s difficulties in gaining access to O’Connor Park for training.

Gardiner knows all about strained relations between teams and boards given his prominent role in the Cork strikes and believes Offaly will be fully focused.