I’m not here to pic fight but what Aidan did was an insult to team-mates
I WANT to put a few things straight after a storm blew up this week over my account of Aidan O’shea and the selfies.
Firstly I didn’t write an article criticising Aidan, despite what some people have said. Instead, I took part in an RTE podcast and gave an account of what occurred at the end of a challenge match between Mayo and Meath in Mullingar on April 25. Tthe media covering the GAA has changed. It’s part of my contract with RTE to participate in podcasts and the idea is to make it interesting for the listener. It’s a different way of airing views, opinions and stories. I’ve been criticised for saying Aidan O’shea should not have posed for photos and selfies with kids, as he did after that game. I never said anything of the sort. In what was a general and honest chat, I shared something I witnessed at the end of that challenge game that made me concerned from a Mayo point of view as they try to reach the Holy Grail. I believe it was a snapshot of where Mayo are as potential All-ireland contenders. I went to the game hoping to see something different in both sides that might indicate their intent for the weeks and months ahead. In fact there was little of note in it. But when it was over, immediately to a man the Mayo players got in a huddle for what was a serious team talk, each man linking each other tightly. I was standing around 20 yards away. There were a dozen or so kids hanging around, waiting for a selfie or a photo with the players. That’s fine. It happens all the time, it even happened in my time as a player. Every team should do it. Sean Boylan used to insist on it at all times and we all did our bit on that Meath team, often for hours on end. But as the Mayo players linked together, Aidan O’shea stood a few yards away outside of the tight-knit group. He wasn’t asked to enter the huddle – instead he stood and had selfies taken while his team-mates had a serious moment together. When the huddle broke and the players immediately did their warm-down as a team together, Aidan again stood to the side and posed for more selfies and pics. I’m sorry if I offend any of the keyboard warriors or the Aidan O’shea fan club, but this is not the norm and not tolerated among successful winning teams and bosses. I wasn’t being personal about Aidan O’shea at any stage. I’m a huge admirer of the player and love to watch him on the occasions when he’s in full flow. My concern from Mayo’s point of view is why he was a man apart and did not act as every one of his colleagues did. Simply, I felt it was an insult to the others. This cannot be tolerated in a game where small margins mean everything. My argument isn’t with Aidan O’shea having his photo taken with young fans. Not at all. My issue is that it seems the Mayo management haven’t fully grasped how to handle Aidan O’shea the superstar in a team environment. Before I’m accused of being too harsh on Mayo, the record shows I’ve been a strong supporter of this team. I’ve backed them to win big games – including last year’s All-ireland. I was hurt for them that it didn’t happen. In my playing days I lost as many big games and titles as I won. If I’m being honest, I probably had as many bad games as good. But what I do know, and what those experiences have allowed me do, is realise that you can’t go into battle when a link in the chain seems to be broken. The events of that evening were huge to me and I hope the genuine Mayo football supporter takes on board my very honest and fair assessment of what I saw – and realise that my experience as a past player has shown me what it takes to win.