A CLAUSE FOR BIG CONCERN
Frustrated Pat’s boss bans budget buyouts after Lonergan gets pinched by Fleetwood
JON DALY has banned the inclusion of buyout clauses in contracts at St Patrick’s Athletic after l osing striker Tommy Lonergan to Fleetwood Town.
The League One side matched the € 60,000 clause for overseas clubs in Lonergan’s Saints deal aft er their sister club Waterford failed to secure his signing.
This has led to wider concerns over multi- club ownership, with Blues boss Keith Long not ruling out a summer loan move, if the opportunity arose.
As for the subject of buyout clauses, Pat’s boss Daly said: “It’s something we have to learn from to make sure we don’t have clauses in contracts going forward.
“Obviously it’s up to the player then, once that clause is activated, to decide if he wants to go.
“He obviously felt it was the right one for him – whether I agree with that or not i s by the by. I felt he probably could have got a better move at a later stage but the advice from them was obviously to take this one.”
Daly continued: “I wouldn’t put them in players’ contracts. I think my biggest gripe with it is it devalues the league.
“I think you know there are players in the league who are worth more than their buy- out clauses.
“It’s important, not just ourselves as a club, but as a league as a whole, we should be more firm on them.
“Ultimately clubs can come in and take players for little to nothing.
“We won’t be putting any clauses in players’ contracts going forward. If anyone wants a clause in their contract, they won’t be signing for Pat’s.
“We have to be prepared to lose players over this, we have to stand firm on it.
“The advice players are getting is to put clauses in and not sign extensions and stuff like that, running contracts down.
“It’s not ideal in the sense that we’re trying to grow the league and get the right value for players going forward. The only way you do that is have the players under contract with decent contracts.”
Blues boss Long( left ), meanwhile, was quizzed on the prospect of a loan move for Loner gan, something that cannot happen until the summer at the earliest.
When asked if Waterford were well positioned to land the 20- year- old, he said: “There’s absolutely no doubt about that.
“The link with Fleet wood is a positive for us as a club.
“If a player remains within the football group, they can be monitored, from performance and physical perspectives. They can analyse data by the player’ s ownership within the group.”
Long added that Fleetwood’s capture of Loner gan was“not an issue for me”.
The promotion- winning boss said: “He’s the latest acquisition by a club that’ s very proactive in the Irish market. It’s no real surprise to me given how they view the league.
“Whether he becomes an option further down the line is a different story. There are rules around transfers and all that stuff.
“Ultimately Tommy is a high- potential young player in this league who is of value and that’s why Fleetwood signed him. It wasn’t my decision to sign him or not sign him.
“They’ve a head of recruitment, an owner and football expertise.
“What Charlie Adam does in his recruitment is his business.
“It’s nothing to do with me although we have a good relationship in terms of players who might become available to us.”
remaining