Wallace slams ex-GAA players’ negativity

Offaly football manager Stephen Wallace has hit out at the negativity of recently retired inter-county players, accusing them of “throwing stones” at former teammates.

Tipperary’s Kieran Bergin, Clare’s Brendan Bugler and Joe Sheridan of Meath have been critical of the growing commitment asked of inter-county players, with 28-year old goalkeeper Paddy O’Rourke, who walked away from the Meath camp last November, adding his voice to the debate last week.

“How can you justify training five or six nights per week for eight or nine months of the year, without a realistic chance of winning anything?” O’Rourke told the AIB GAA blog.

“All that training and commitment for one or two big championship games, so many other players must also be hating it. I honestly couldn’t tell you what motivates the rest of them.”

Wallace was unimpressed by O’Rourke’s comments and believes they are unfair on the present members of Andy McEntee’s panel.

“What about all the other Meath guys who are happy to be there? What about the Meath guy who is number 25 on the panel, or 36 on the panel?” Wallace remarked after Offaly’s league defeat away to Derry on Sunday.

“Don’t stick your two fingers up to the rest of your teammates, especially a guy who has been lucky enough to get trips to Australia played in Leinster finals and all the rest.

“Meath are where they are at the minute and his teammates don’t need to be hearing that, but he is not alone.

“If you want to walk away, then walk away, but don’t beat the guys who are still at it with a stick.”

Fellow Royal Joe Sheridan has claimed players are “nearly detesting” being part of a county set-up, with Kieran Bergin alleging the Premier hurlers were treated like children and told to “basically give up drink for the entire year”.

Bugler, meanwhile, felt not enough trust was afforded to players and that took from their life outside of hurling.

“The lack of tailoring to individual needs, part of that is down to not trusting players. Surely lads can be considered responsible enough to look at their own clips of video analysis at home than to do it all collectively,” said the 2013 All-Ireland winning Clare hurler.

Wallace sees it as somewhat ironic that these players never once complained while part of the inter-county environment all through their twenties.

He dismissed as “nonsense” the claim that inter-county commitment has reached unsustainable levels.

“I don’t think it is fair on the current players for ex-players, who played at a high level, to come out with this rubbish. Nobody asked the guys who now can’t commit to commit for the last seven or eight years. These are guys with All-Ireland medals in their back pockets and now, when they walk away, they have a problem with the commitment.

“It is a nasty business and not fair on the young guys, particularly the players in weaker counties who are giving their life to their county jersey and some of them don’t even get a game. To read about this nonsense in the paper, it just doesn’t sit with me.

“People have been training hard with the GAA over the past 20 years. This situation just didn’t happen last year or the year before.

“It is a big commitment, yes, but some of these critics have been lucky enough to play with Ireland in the International Rules, they’ve won All-Stars, they’ve won All-Irelands. What about the guy who is number 24 or 25 with an Offaly or a Carlow, who is training every bit as hard and coming every night of the week? The guys we have in Offaly are unbelievably committed.”