Martin O’Neill seeks explanation from Matt Doherty over criticism of his regime

O'Neill wasn't going to let him away with that one.

The night of Martin O'Neill's parting from his role as Republic of Ireland manager and player Matt Doherty is asked what it was like to work under the Derry man in the Ireland camp. Doherty claimed it was old-school, in comparison to what he experiences week-in, week-out at Wolves.

"Everyone thinks there wasn’t a game plan every time, that’s not entirely true. Sometimes there was, sometimes it was less clear," Doherty said on 2FM's Game On. "Compared to the set-up I have at Wolves, you could class it as old-school. When you were away with Ireland, you didn’t really have that much coaching. It was more of five-a-side, or 11-a-side game, and that would be it."

Going into games, players weren't overly sure of their roles with the team's tactical plan fairly unclear, according to the 26-year-old Dubliner.

"You’d have a few players thinking 'we’ll play this shape', or someone else thinking something else. You can’t have that, especially at international football, people not really sure on what their role is the next day."

In the wake of that appraisal of his management and coaching, the Times reports that a "furious" Martin O'Neill is said to have made contact with the full back requesting an explanation for his comments. Doherty, who only made four appearances in green during O'Neill's tenure had previously explained his absence from the team by claiming that his "face doesn't fit." The latest news is that Mick McCarthy, who managed Ireland between 1996 and 2002 is set to replace Martin O'Neill as the Republic of Ireland manager, though that news has been unconfirmed as yet.