Horan laughs off Gallagher’s claims
Gallagher had claimed Horan worked to “a premeditated script” and Irish Examiner columnist Shannon “is behind a good bit of it”.
Horan, in his post-match interview with the press, smiled when it was jovially put to him that Shannon was pulling the strings: “I can’t make any comment without my sports psychologist here!”
Asked about Gallagher’s comments, Jim McGuinness pointedly said: “Well, you need to get Rory to answer that question.
“My comments were made just after the Laois game out of concern for one my players before the draw was made, so it wasn’t that we were trying to stoke a fire.”
McGuinness defended his own comments and the third man tackling done on his players.
“Things like that go on all the time. The bottom line is my issue was raised out of concern for one of my players.
“I don’t make any apology for that and I wouldn’t change my stance on that. I raised it in a serious manner and in a serious forum and, being honest, I thought it was dealt with a bit flippantly on The Sunday Game.”
McGuinness claimed his words were twisted to suggest he was painting Donegal out to be victims.
“We never, ever, once said we were afraid of physicality. You’ve got physicality on one side, which is a huge part of Gaelic games — in hurling and football. A huge part of it, and an important part of it.
“You’ve got that on one side, and you’ve got players being taken out of it. One is manly. One is cowardly.”
Horan played down the war of words between the counties in the build-up. “I can still remember just across there after the match last year and we commented on it ourselves as a team.
“I suppose the class and respect the Donegal team and management showed to us after we were beaten last year in the All-Ireland final that’s something that always stuck with me.
“Even there today, straight after the game, Jimmy McGuinness and Rory were straight down (to us).”
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