James Horan: ‘I really felt for Glenn Ryan when I read that. To me it is absolute rubbish’

Ryan during the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship match between Sligo and Kildare.

The negative noise emanating from a recent county board meeting in Kildare are not beneficial for their senior team, according to former Mayo manager James Horan.

Speaking on the Irish Examiner’s Gaelic football podcast, Horan took issue with recent criticism by Kildare Chairman Mick Gorman.

As reported by the Leinster Leader last week, Gorman told club delegates at a County Board meeting that he had spoken to Glenn Ryan after their Allianz League campaign kicked off with two defeats.

"I spoke to the management for a long time today about the situation and the necessity that performances and results have to greatly improve,” he said. “We are fully aware that results are not good enough, not good enough for the county and the players and the management are all fully aware of the situation."

Horan had two stints as Mayo senior manager, from 2011 to 2014 and 2019 to 2022. He was asked how he would respond if he had a similar meeting with a chairperson.

“I’d absolutely told him to go and hop. Without question. How about a chairman, as they do in other counties, sits down and says, ‘Glenn, what can we do to support you? How can we work together for the betterment of Kildare GAA. What do you need to move this on.’ Imagine that kind of meeting as opposed to a chairman coming out and pointing at Glenn Ryan and the players. That is what I am seeing.

“I was thinking about it. I really felt for Glenn Ryan when I read that. To me it is absolute rubbish. I accept we don’t know everything. But Kildare have good players. They have underage success. Some of the best managers in the country have gone in there. Jack O’Connor, Mick O’Dwyer, Kieran McGeeney, Cian O’Neill, to name a few.

“Something is not right. We’ve talked about identity, that is not just about players. It’s about everything. A county board, structures, a setup. The whole lot needs to be looked at. Is the ground up to standard? Is the investment there? I’d argue the process, the system around it is as important to provide the setup for the players to be the best they can be. If one isn’t right, the other won’t be right. Those comments were a mess. It is like Roy Keane’s famous one. Look at yourself first.” Kildare are reigning U20 All-Ireland champions having also won the title in 2018 and made the final in 2022. However, they have not won a Leinster SFC since 2000. They take on Armagh this Sunday as they look to get their league campaign back on track. That is a short-term priority. For Horan, there is a long-term task as well.

“Maybe all of that has an impact. All the hassle around it. Does it creep into a setup? I don’t know but when one section of your county setup isn’t right the other one won’t be right. I think you have that dynamic here.”