Whats going on at Dundalk?
The players have refused to train twice this week over something to do with the contract offered to 3 of their new signings in July and then was changed after without their consent. Seems to be all very amateur by them.
http://www.independent.ie/sport/socc...n-1934526.html
Dundalk FC and Player issue statements about Indo article
A club statement has contradicted the Indo article that players refused to train and it seems that the players and management have issued a similar if even stronger statement that is highly critical of the Indo article.
First one is from the club, second one is attributed to the players and management, both via Oriel Web. Expect that they will appear on club website shortly :
Quote:
Press Release
Following media reports and speculation surrounding current player contracts and other related matters, Dundalk FC would like to provide the following clarifications
Current Player Contracts
Dundalk FC can confirm that the club met yesterday (Wednesday) with a number of players, along with Stephen McGuinness of the PFAI, to address any potential misunderstandings regarding the terms of these players contracts. These matters were resolved to the satisfaction of all involved in these meetings, although agreement remains to be finalised with one player who was unavailable to attend.
2010 Player Contracts
The club has discussed plans for 2010 season with a number of the current squad and will continue to have further discussions over the coming days and weeks as regards new player contracts for next season.
2010 Manager
The position regarding the manager for 2010 is currently not finalised, with no contract being completed at this point. The club hope to be able to make further announcements on this situation shortly.
Dundalk V Derry City – Friday 6 Nov
The 1st team squad has trained as normal this week on Monday and Tuesday with a rest day assigned on Wednesday and a full training schedule on Thursday, ahead of the final league game against Derry City on Friday night.
Sean Connor will have a full squad available with the exceptions of suspensions (Shaun Kelly, Paul McAreavey) and injuries (Kevin McKinlay and Michael Collins), while Alex Williams is doubtful.
Quote:
The management team and players of Dundalk Football Club wish to dispute and clarify an article printed in today’s Irish Independent newspaper.
At no point this season have the players refused to train. This week, they took part in a double session on Monday which was followed by another session on Tuesday morning. It was the manager’s decision to give the squad Wednesday off as he felt it would be helpful for the players as they try to get their head around the situation that everybody at the football club finds themselves in. The squad returned to training today in preparation for tomorrow’s game.
Comments made about the club in today’s media are reprehensible, and Sean Connor and the players wish to make it clear that they remain fully committed to Dundalk FC and are looking forward to finishing the season on a high when they welcome Derry City to Oriel Park tomorrow night.
“The players are fully behind the manager and are fully committed to the club, and have been throughout the season,” club captain Thomas Heary said. “Today’s article does not help us in our preparations for tomorrow’s game and we want to make it clear that we have trained as normal this week, with the exception of yesterday when Sean felt it would be in our best interests to give us a rest day. We have enjoyed this season, we have achieved what we set out to do, and we really want to finish the year on a high against Derry.”
Manager Sean Connor also echoed those comments. “The players have been absolutely fantastic this year, and have given 100 percent commitment and effort throughout, which has seen the club achieve their highest league position in over 12 years,” he said. “The squad are extremely disappointed with today’s article, which has called into question their commitment to the football club. We feel it is very important to clarify to our supporters, who would have understandably been deeply concerned by this story, that while we have achieved what we wanted and guaranteed fifth position, we will be going out for and doing our best to get all three points against Derry. We have trained well this week, and we want to finish with a win.”
The manager and players would like to thank the fans for their magnificent support this year, both home and away, while they also wish to pay gratitude to the Dundalk FC Trust for their continued support and efforts in trying to help the club in these difficult economic times.
Yours in sport,
Dundalk FC management team & squad.