Pete upset over Ferm departure
PETE MCGRATH has broken his silence on his departure as Fermanagh boss and admitted a player heave forced his resignation. The 1991 and ‘94 All-ireland winner with Down revealed that a number of senior players said they would most likely walk away after his three year term was officially extended last week. The Rostrevor man said he regretted his departure was not without acrimony and ill feeling. “It was obvious that there were things they [the players] weren’t happy about and there was a strong possibility that if the current manager or management team was put back in place that a number of senior players would not commit to Fermanagh for 2018,” Mcgrath told RTE Sport last night. “That really started the whole process of uncertainty. “But it just got to a stage where players were saying, ‘no’, they wanted a change. “It led me to a position where I felt it made no sense for me to stay. “The issues that were mentioned to me were not major issues, and in fact in my view in some cases they were non-issues.” Mcgrath led the Erne County to the All-ireland quarter-final two years ago but relegation to Division Three this year was followed by heavy defeats to Monaghan and Armagh. “Everything has to come to an end and you always hope when the end comes that it’s going to be one in which you walk away and you feel you’ve reached the limit, and there’s no acrimony, and there’s no ill feeling and that trust and integrity is still there. Unfortunately, the way this ended, that isn’t the case.”