GAA News

The GAA may be trying to sort out the issue of payments to managers but it is alleged today that one man is on €42,000 a year to run a team.

Rumours and stories about GAA managers and undeclared payments have been flying around in GAA circles for years now. But Antrim’s Kevin McGourty has come out with a whopper in today’s Irish Independent.

The Saffron star made his extraordinary claim during the course of an enlightening interview with Jackie Cahill.

"There is one guy on £35,000 for the year (€42,000) and I have heard that from sources close to where I have very good contacts," said the St Gall’s man.

"Most senior clubs pay their managers. And I don't think you'll get too many people saying that I'm wrong. It's well-known around Ulster. It's happening right across the board at club and county level and the only thing we can do is regulate it."

The GAA are attempting to bring some order to the issue with a raft of proposals now being discussed but McGourty also thinks that payments for players will have to happen sooner rather than later.

"Down the line, yes, because you look at the preparation that players go through now. But the most important point is the pressure they're under,” he said.

"For a top player in Kerry, the pressure is there to win All-Irelands, which is a different pressure to a player in Antrim, for example, who has the pressure of being an inter-county player with the spotlight being shone on him.

"The time has now come to endorse them in some way."

McGourty is correct about the demands on players these days but it is the issue of payments to managers that will interest the authorities.