O'Neill living on borrowed time

O'Neill living on borrowed time

After the hokey cokey that was his dalliance with the Stoke City job over the last week, Martin O'Neill looks set to finally sign his contract extension this week to remain on as Republic of Ireland manager.

Off the back of the 5-1 drubbing to Denmark in the World Cup Playoff, O'Neill was already under pressure but the manner in which his “will he, won't he” with Stoke City last week should lead to FAI CEO John Delaney considering revoking the contract extension to the end of the Euro 2020 campaign.

Martin O'Neill is as entitled as anyone to test the market for pastures new, for as we all know, contracts in soccer don't mean that much anymore. However, it has been clear to all that if O'Neill had gotten an offer that would have suited him, he would be gone.

Backing Tipperary

Money has become a dirty word in the GAA in recent times, but a certain amount of it is still needed to help a team to prepare as best they can. However, how many of the leading inter-county teams will have their players selling memberships of their supporters club as the Tipperary footballers are doing for the Friends of Tipperary Football.

Ideally you wouldn't like them to and for them to put all their focus on preparation, but this element is crucial in maintaining a strong link between the players and their supporters. In too many counties, players are being shielded away from their fans, and while there isn't a large core of Tipperary football supporters, there is still a great bond between the players and those there.

So to help these guys along, if you see George Hannigan, Philip Austin, Kevin O'Halloran, Stephen O'Brien and Stephen Murray, or indeed any of the panel in the coming weeks, ask to buy a €20 membership from them. They'll certainly appreciate and as a supporter you feel it as a personal investment in helping this group of players give us even more memorable days as they have done in recent years.

The same goes for our senior hurlers, who do come under a greater level of pressure and scrutiny from supporters but those who part ways with €40 to join the Tipperary Supporters Club, are enabling them to be the best they can be and if they regain the Liam MacCarthy Cup come next August, it will have been money sell spent.

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