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Murphy's side meet Meath on May 27. INPHO/Ryan Byrne
Game on

I'll try my best to increase pressure on McEnaney, says Murphy

The Wicklow manager also says his side won’t be influenced by the controversy surrounding the Meath team ahead of the upcoming clash between the sides.

WICKLOW FOOTBALL MANAGER Harry Murphy sent a pointed message to supreme survivor Seamus ‘Banty’ McEnaney yesterday.

“I’m glad you are still in a job, but I’ll be doing my best to force you out of it at the end of May.”

McEnaney clung on to his role as Meath boss in a stormy meeting in Navan on Wednesday night, and now leads the Royals into a Championship clash with Murphy’s Garden County team in Carlow on May 27.

And Murphy declared, “It doesn’t matter to me if Banty, Boylan or even Barney Allen are over the Meath team, we still have to beat what is in front of us.

“I like Banty. He’s in the top tier of managers, there’s no doubt about that, and I am glad he has survived.

“I am not going to get involved in the politics of Meath football, but I will admit I was surprised, shocked even, when they got rid of Eamonn O’Brien. He won a Leinster Championship, and they still got rid of him, which I found odd.

“There’s as much pressure to win games on inter-county managers now as there is on Premier League managers in the UK.

“If you don’t win something within a year, you are likely to be kicked out the door. And remember, we don’t get anything like the money soccer bosses get, but we are under the same pressure to get results.

“Also, we have to meet our supporters face to face on a daily basis and hear their opinions – that doesn’t happen to Premier League managers.”

While saying he is looking forward to the clash with Banty’s boys, Murphy added: “We are not even thinking about Meath yet, we have a league final with Fermanagh in Croke Park on Saturday week, and that’s where our focus is.

“To be honest,  I hadn’t a clue about the outcome of that meeting in Navan until you told me. I’m glad Banty survived it, it would have been harsh if he hadn’t.”

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