GPA: The only way to go

THE GPA have reiterated their support for the introduction of payment to inter-county managers and insisted that they believe the findings of a survey at the end of 2009, thatrevealed almost 70% of its playing members are in support of such a scheme, are still relevant.

GPA spokesperson Sean Potts believes the introduction of a system that will regulate the payments is the only feasible one for the GAA to pursue and is adamant they cannot maintain the current policy of turning a blind eye to the practice.

“This option is the only way to go. We are conscious of the traditions in the GAA. But it must be grasped that what’s going on at the moment is an embarrassment to the association publicly. There is no guarantee of course that by bringing in proper regulation, that there won’t be abuses of that.

“But from a GPA perspective, we favour the legitimatising of payments to managers. We don’t see why managers should be treated anydifferently to doctors and physios who are part of inter-county management setups. Our views are based on a survey of the membership during the period from late 2009 to early 2010. We surveyed our members and just under 70% came back and said they’d no issues with managers being paid.

“We also asked if managers were paid, would players be inclined to then look for payment and over 75% said they wouldn’t. It’s not an issue for players and they don’t see it as an influencing factor. We welcome the public debate on the issue and the publication of this. It is a long time in the pipeline but is a very thorough document.”

Dublin footballer Barry Cahill spoke strongly in favour of managers being paid at the launch of the 2011 All-Ireland SFC last May, citing the huge workload inter-county bosses face. Potts believes Cahill’s views are representative of the majority of GAA stars.

“The players are aware at the coalface what a manager does for a squad and how important a cog he is in the machine. For all the commitments that every modern ambitious squad faces, there is an extra layer on top of that for a manager. The demands are phenomenal.”

Potts revealed the GPA were consulted before the discussion paper was produced and believe this is now a perfect chance to implement welfare plans the players body have in the pipeline. He also welcomed the suggestion GAA managers would have to meet proper coaching standards in order to be appointed for inter-county roles.

“We provided a document to the GAA with our views on the subject. An important aspect is with regard to player welfare. We are conscious that there would be a professional relationship existing between management teams and county board officials but we need to be careful that the amateur players are not caught in the middle.

“This highlights what we’re trying to do with the establishment of players charters with county boards. We would propose that players would meet early in the year to discuss the season ahead amongst themselves, then meet with the manager to plan for the season ahead and finally meet with the board. That should be part of the process of legitimatising payments to managers. If people know what’s going on by virtue of good strategic planning, it’s much easier to avoid problems occurring.

“As regards coaching badges, that is something we’d be very much in favour of. Everything needs to be done properly from a voluntary context and any development that can improve coaching is to be encouraged. Players don’t take any short cuts when it comes to trying to succeed themselves and they don’t want any short cuts to be taken in order to do well as a squad.”