PASSION

is one of the most insidious words in sport. Wretched behaviour can be excused on the grounds of passion, but it is not an act of passion to send abusive letters to the home of a manager.

That was the experience of Micheál Donoghue, and be sure that the clowns haranguing him and his players after they were relegated in 2016 and failed to win promotion earlier this year were clamouring to hail them in September.

It’s an old story, but one that grows no less stupid with time.