Departing Laois boss Tomas Ó Flathárta indicates he had player support

Tomas Ó Flathárta has hinted that he was forced to resign as Laois football manager and indicated that he retained the support of the players whose voice was ‘ignored’.

The former Galway and Westmeath boss stated just days after Laois’ surprise qualifier defeat to Antrim last Saturday week that “after much consideration, I have decided to step down”.

But he backtracked considerably in an interview with RTÉ radio and gave the impression that he was told to leave the position by Laois officials.

“I always think that you need to reflect on these things and I’d always like to be given a week, two or three weeks to look at what things we need to improve on and look at my own situation as well, should I keep going or what do I need to change,” said Ó Flathárta.

“When you do something very rash, emotion is your enemy in that situation because you’re still hurting after a game. Look, there is more than the manager involved in these decisions.”

Asked specifically if he was forced out by the Laois County Board, he responded: “What I’m saying is that there’s more than just the manager involved in these decisions.

“When there is more than the one person involved in it, that dictates the timing and the outcome of the decision.”

The Kerryman suggested that he was supported by the players, despite the crushing defeat to Antrim.

“I value their input all the time in the way that we play and the way that we go about our business. Whether their voice was listened to or whether it was ignored in this situation, probably more of the latter.

“But it’s not a place for me to decide how much value their voice gets in these decisions.”