GAA:Fermanagh football manager John O'Neill may have the backing of his county board but Croke Park this evening expressed "disappointment" its proposal to resolve the dispute between the manager and senior players was dismissed.
“The GAA/GPA put forward a proposal which they believed represented a reasonable way forward and which would bring the matter to a conclusion,” read the joint statement from Croke Park.
“This included an independent end of season consultative review of protocols relevant to Fermanagh’s inter-county teams. Regretfully, the Fermanagh GAA Management Committee have decided not to accept the proposal suggested.
“It is a source of disappointment that our attempts to facilitate a solution have been unsuccessful and the GAA/GPA re-iterate their availability to assist in any way required in the future.”
The Fermanagh county board has been in discussions with the GAA/GPA since last week and today spoke-out in support for O’Neill, who has clearly lost the faith of some of his players.
"Fermanagh county management committee fully supports the management team of John O'Neill and his backroom team,” a county board statement read. "We commend the leadership shown by the senior team captain and players' representative, Barry Owens, and pledge our support to all those panel members who have continued to play for our senior football team.
"We reaffirm that all our team managers are appointed to a three-year term,” it added.
Last week four players - Peter and James Sherry, Niall Bogue and Tommy McElroy - made clear their lack of faith in O’Neill in a letter stating they want to play but not under the former under-21 manager. While it seems their concerns have not fallen on deaf ears, they have not moved the board into action.
"We regret that the four players are currently unavailable for selection to our senior team, and acknowledge their contribution to Fermanagh football over the years.
"We are committed to working to address issues raised by all players."
The statement added: "Following discussions with the GAA/GPA, we did not consider that their suggestions represented an appropriate way forward for Fermanagh."
Captain Owens did not join in the player revolt that has seen the Fermanagh squad decimated over recent months.
Fermanagh were Ulster finalists in 2008 but were relegated last year to Division Four. They were among the early season favourites to bounce back immediately, but a string of disappointing results, combined with the incremental departure and declared unavailability of up to 10 senior players has seen them slide to the point where only London and Kilkenny rank below them.