“I feel let down.”
Louth GAA didn’t mince their words when revealing how they felt after Mickey Harte and Gavin Devlin’s controversial departure.
It was confirmed last night that Harte would be the new Derry manager, a shocking revelation in the GAA world for a number of reasons.
First of all, the Errigal Ciaran man is almost synonymous with Tyrone after his 18 year spell as the county’s manager, bringing them to unprecedented success by winning three All-Ireland titles.
Nobody would have imagined that he would ever be on the sidelines for another team in Ulster, never mind neighbouring rivals like Derry.
More importantly than that, the real reason that this is shocking is because himself and Devlin were already in a job, managing Louth.
They seemed committed and focused to the Wee County and continuing their success after guiding them from Division Four to Division Two.
Louth GAA chair Peter Fitzpatrick says he feels “let down” by Harte and Devlin.
“For the three years, Mickey Harte has given Louth football unbelievable service,” Fitzpatrick told LMFM.
“He got us from Division 4 to Division 3, a Leinster final – he’s done a lot but I will be very, very honest with you. I’ve got a good personal relationship with Mickey and Gavin.
“It was a real, real kick in the teeth. I didn’t see it coming. We’ve been preparing for the last number of months with Mickey and Gavin, they’ve given an extra programme to the players. The players were fully behind them.
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“We didn’t see it coming. We We wanted to excel next year in Division 2.
“Even two or three weeks ago, we were talking about how do we get into Division 1 and what extra resources we need.
“We had a thing in Louth, ‘What Mickey wants, Mickey gets’. For the last three years, no matter what Mickey Harte and the management team wanted.
“Honestly, I really am, I feel let down and I’m just disappointed for the players.”
Related links:
- Former Tyrone star Kyle Coney reacts to “surreal” Mickey Harte Derry switch
- Owen Mulligan’s reaction to Mickey Harte news echoes Tyrone fans everywhere
- Joe Brolly almost left speechless as Mickey Harte rips up the script
