This one looks messy.
Offaly fell to Wicklow in their Leinster Senior Football Championship clash at the weekend and missed out on a quarter final date with All-Ireland champions Dublin.
Offaly boss Stephen Wallace did not last long after that.
The Offaly county board – Management Review Meeting – convened on Wednesday evening for a meeting pertaining to that unexpected loss and made the decision to cut the Kerry native loose. A statement from Offaly GAA reads:
‘Following a meeting of Coiste Bainisti Uibh Fhaili on Wednesday 16th May 2018, the decision was made that Stephen Wallace should not continue as Manager of the Offaly Senior Football Team.
‘An Interim Management Team will be appointed as soon as possible.’
One game into the championship summer and Wallace is on his way. Offaly will now seek to go through the qualifiers with an all new, interim management team.
Interestingly enough, the Offaly players submitted a letter to the county board ahead of Wednesday’s meeting that stressed how disappointed they were by the Wicklow loss, and that they were prepared to ‘knuckle down’ over the next four weeks. A portion of the letter reads:
“We look forward to the challenge and improving on our performance. We are very committed to playing for Offaly under the current management and we would also just like to confirm that no player has engaged with local or national reporters since Sunday’s game.”
https://twitter.com/Woolberto/status/996867017037832193
The letter was intended purely for the county board meeting but has since surfaced since it emerged Wallace had been given his marching orders.
