Hi °C | Lo °C Fermanagh captain Barry Owens has launched a curt broadside at the county board following the Ernesiders shock dismissal from the All-Ireland football qualifiers at the hands of London last Saturday.
Owens, the most experienced player in the team, has accused some board members of actually wanting to see the team fail.
“It is a sad state of affairs when you have people in the county board hoping you are going to be beaten,” said the wily Owens.
“There will be plenty of talk as usual but I think whatever decision is now made in relation to the management set-up and to the future needs to be made quickly.
“The county board is planning a review and this should be done quickly. It is in everyone's best interests to get everything sorted as soon as possible.”
When several of Fermanagh’s more experienced players defected from the squad earlier this year, chairman Peter Carty confirmed that a full review would be taken when the team’s championship campaign had ended.
Owens insists that manager John O’Neill and his back-up team should not be left to shoulder full responsibility for what has proven a disastrous campaign for the county team.
“People are always quick to blame the management and I'm sure that they have lessons to learn, but when the players go out and do the complete opposite to what they are told, what can you do?” queries Owens
“We are a very young and very inexperienced side overall and there is no doubt that the pressure got to the players on Saturday and that is understandable.
“We have lost a lot of good players this year but I have trained with those young boys who played on Saturday and I know that they have good inter-county futures ahead of them.”
