Gaelic Games:Tomás Ó Flatharta has admitted it was with "extreme reluctance" that he accepted the decision of the executive of the Galway County Football Board to not grant him another year at the helm of the side. .
Ó Flatharta’s 10-month stint in charge came to an end last night after the county’s club delegates ratified a decision made on Tuesday by the Football Board executive not to grant another year to the present management team. Ó Flatharta was informed this morning of the decision.
In a statement released to the media this afternoon, Ó Flatharta outlined his position, pointing to the work done at under-21 and minor level and believing that the work in progress would have taken three years to bear fruit at senior level.
“I don’t want to become a focus of discontent or to cause dissent about the process by which that decision was arrived at. For that reason and with extreme reluctance, I accept the decision,” Ó Flatharta said in his statement.
“When I was appointed last year I set out with a plan. A key part of that plan was building relationships with other sectors of the GAA in Galway, and in particular focussing on the development of younger players. As part of this, I developed a working relationship with the U21 management, resulting in the integration of a large number of U21 players into the senior set up, which will show positive results in the next number of years.
“Already, ten of this year’s U21 team have been integrated into the senior panel. The promise is there: the U21s won the All-Ireland title, the minors are in the All-Ireland semi-final and St Jarlath’s reached the All-Ireland Colleges Final. Galway will again become a force in the GAA.
“My management philosophy has always been based on the principles of player involvement, building a game plan by consensus, regular feedback and putting the team before the individual.
“This involves empowerment and players’ input into the process. This was beginning to work in Galway and, despite media speculation during the early stages of my tenure, I’ve had a positive relationship with all of the players and this continued unchanged.
“This approach cannot guarantee instant success. Look at, for example, the situation in Roscommon and Kildare in year one of a new manager taking over. In Galway, performance on the field, particularly in the Connacht championship, did not always match my expectations or those of the players. There were, however, clear indications at the latter stages of the league and in the championship game against Meath of substantial improvement.
“Hence my conviction that, over the three year period I would absolutely have brought long overdue success to the Galway football team.
“I hope they achieve that success and I wish the team well.
“I also want to thank my back-up team for their unstinting support during my time in Galway”.
Ó Flatharta took the job last October but Galway were relegated to Division two of the National Football League after winning just a single game against Armagh to finish bottom of the table.
The Tribesmen were knocked out of the Connacht Championship by Mayo at the semi-finals stage before losing to Meath in round two of the qualifiers.
Galway’s decision came after an end of year review by the selection committee and Ó Flatharta. The county will be circulating nomination papers to clubs in the coming weeks as they begin the search for a successor.