Doherty rubbishes Cassidy revolt claims

FORMER Donegal boss John Joe Doherty last night revealed he was misquoted by Allstar defender Kevin Cassidy in the book ‘This Is Our Year’ and rubbished claims by Cassidy there was a player revolt in the county during his spell in charge.

Despite the controversy that has ensued and his axing from the Donegal squad this week by current manager Jimmy McGuinness, Cassidy insists he has no regrets about his decision to contribute to the book and is adamant that he revealed no secrets about the squad’s preparation for this year’s championship.

“I don’t regret my part in the book,” revealed Cassidy. “It was with total honesty that I approached it and I don’t believe I revealed any secrets within the squad. Anything that I discussed had been said before the publication. It is with great |regret that following the events of Tuesday, it appears my inter-county career is over.”

However Doherty, who managed the county during the 2009 and 2010 seasons, admits he cannot understand why Cassidy commented in the book.

“What Kevin was thinking, I don’t know,” revealed Doherty who was speaking on RTE Radio’s Sport At 7 programme. “He should have always foreseen problems down the line. There are plenty of things in the book that I would take issue with myself. For example there was talk about a player revolt. I took it upon myself to make a couple of calls to a few senior Donegal players that are still involved in the team. They said that it was the first they’d heard of this players’ revolt. I think the problem was the shroud of secrecy that was over the book right from the word go. The manager wasn’t aware this was going on, so I think that’s where the problem lay.”

Cassidy rejected suggestions that he was disrespectful to people involved in GAA circles and explained that he did not inform management about the book as he felt it would not have an effect on the team’s displays.

“I never intended any disrespect to any opponents or Donegal people. I didn’t run it by the team management because I didn’t feel it would impact on the team. But it should also be noted that I was only one of ten representatives from the counties involved. I wish to thank every manager I have ever played under. My respect for them is apparent in the book, when read in its full context.”