Blaming the manager a well-worn patch says Brian Flanagan

Kildare manager, Brian Flangan, asked for his reaction to comments at a recent Co. Board meeting at which his tenure as county manager was heavily criticised said “I think the timing of it was poor, the year wasn’t over, it is now and whatever conversations we will have in the next few weeks I will live with that, sit down with Mick (Mullen Co. Board chairman) and review the season in detail.

“Blaming the manager is a well worn path in this county, very few managers last 25 years, particularly home-grown managers having had to face that but firstly I pay very little attention to it, it doesn’t hold a lot of water with me, people can say what they want to say at those meetings but as I say poorly timed.”

Flanagan added “as regards my own future and what that means, today is not the day to be making decisions, we are after been knocked out of the championship, all very disappointed but there is also a group of young footballers that need time, need patience.

“I think we need to widen the lens, it is simple, bad season blame the manager, I’m not blameless here, not at all but if we widen the lens and look at Kildare strategically, culturally in every way, there is a bigger discussion to be had, not here and now but there is a bigger discussion to be had in committing to a strategic plan for three, four, five years and it will take that long to get there, that puts the senior football team front and centre and we go after it with everything we have, but it will require the support of all the stakeholders, from the management, players, sponsors, fans, clubs, everyone and stuff like the comments last week don’t help.

“I am very much bought into this journey and I believe in these players one hundred per cent and the season needs to be reviewed properly and I will do that in the coming weeks with the chairman.”