MAYO MELTDOWN
Management duo quit after player revolt
NOEL CONNELLY and Pat Holmes claimed l ast night that i t was with ‘heavy hearts’ they were stepping down as joint managers of the Mayo football team.
Within 24 hours of the entire Mayo panel having issued county board bosses with an ultimatum, Connelly and Holmes attended an emergency board executive meeting last night where they tendered their resignation.
‘It is with heavy hearts that we wish to announce that we are stepping down from our role as joint managers of the Mayo Senior Football Team with immediate effect,’ opened the pair in their prepared statement.
While they refused to criticise the players who they led to a fifth Connacht title in a row, they claimed that their departure was prompted by a desire to remove any ‘obstacle’ which the players ‘perceived’ might prevent them from winning an All-Ireland.
‘We took on the job on a three-year basis and had been looking forward to building on what had been achieved this year.
‘We are passionate about Mayo football and it is
From Back Page deeply disappointing not to complete our project. ‘By resigning we wish to remove any obstacle that the players might perceive as preventing them from winning the All-Ireland,’ continued their statement. That is likely to be interpreted as a veiled jibe at the players, who had passed a no confidence vote in them last week, making their position untenable. Any hope of a reconciliation ended on Thursday night when a review meeting in which Keith Higgins and Cillian O’Connor had been due to meet with county board chiefs was attended by up to 30 players in a show of strength. It is understood that the players declined to engage with board officers who had expected them to elaborate on the reasons behind the 27-7 no confidence vote in the joint managers. Instead, the issued a demand that they have an input into the appointment of the incoming team manager. Despite being ditched by their players, Connelly and Holmes, ‘thanked’ them for their efforts. ‘We would like to thank the players for all their efforts during 2015. We would also like to thank the people of Mayo for the huge support and messages of goodwill throughout the year and in the last week. Mhaigh Éo Abú,’ concluded the statement.