‘Davy’s doing everything to help us win’

How many times must it be said? Managers can win matches, but they can also lose them.

Yes, the final responsibility in any game rests on the players on the pitch, but who chooses them, who gets them ready to play, who decides on tactics and game plans? No one knows that better than the players. No one is in a better position to assess what their own manager is doing. That’s why Clare’s Colin Ryan has a better appreciation than most of Davy Fitzgerald.

“Listen, love him or hate him, and I suppose that is what the Clare supporters do in general and there is no in-between, Davy is a passionate Clareman,” he said.