Another meeting on football row planned

TEAM NEWS:DISCUSSIONS ON the Fermanagh football dispute will continue this evening when the county's management committee meet for the second time in three days.

Monday night’s meeting failed to make any solid progress on the apparent stand-off between manager John O’Neill and members of his panel and it was decided that further issues needed to be addressed.

Last week the GAA and the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) facilitated talks between players and county officials, producing a report for Monday’s meeting of Fermanagh’s management committee to attempt a resolution to the crisis that has seen 10 highprofile players walk away from the football panel.

A joint statement released yesterday by the GAA and the GPA yesterday merely confirmed “a further meeting of the Fermanagh management committee will be held tomorrow evening, Wednesday, to address relevant matters concerning the county’s senior football team.

“Again, and in accordance with agreed protocols, no further comment will be made by any party until after this meeting.”

Last Thursday’s talks were held in accordance with the disputes resolution protocols as outlined in the recently-announced recognition agreement between the GAA and the GPA – and were described as constructive, addressing a number of issues highlighted by both the players and the county officers present.

However it is understood when the 10 players were asked if they would return to play under O’Neill they responded in the negative.

Some of the pressure lifted off O’Neill when Fermanagh at least managed to beat Kilkenny in Jenkinstown last Saturday evening, but they remain third from the bottom in Division Four with no hope of promotion.

It has been quite a fall from grace for the team that under Malachy O’Rourke, who stepped down at end of last season, came close to winning its first Ulster title in 2008 when losing to Armagh after a replay, and famously made the All-Ireland semi-final in 2004 under Charlie Mulgrew.

It still seems likely O’Neill will remain in place until the end of the season, even if that means he will be without the 10 experienced panel members that include Mark Little, Séamus Quigley, former captain James Sherry, Shane Lyons, Fergal Murphy and James Connolly – and also Tommy McElroy, Peter Sherry, Niall Bogue and Ciarán Flaherty.

Elsewhere, Tyrone full back Justin McMahon should return to match fitness in time for the championship, as the ankle injury sustained in the victory over Antrim earlier this month is less serious than initially feared.

McMahon only sustained ligament damage, not a bone break, and will therefore only miss three to four weeks.

Galway footballer Tomás Ó Flatharta also received a welcome boost with news that Michael Meehan should also be fit for the start of the championship, having missed their entire league campaign to date with an ankle injury.

Meehan should be able to return to training within the next fortnight, although too late to help Galway’s last desperate efforts to avoid relegation.

Still without a win from their five games, Galway need to beat Armagh on Sunday and also Dublin in the final round, and still hope other results go their way, if they are to avoid the drop to Division Two.

Meehan injured ankle stems from the Connacht championship semi-final replay against Sligo last summer, only his second game back from a knee ligament injury sustained against Kerry earlier in the year.