Ireland manager Martin O’Neill has thrown some serious shade at football pundit Eamon Dunphy.
His assistant Roy Keane may have had choice words for the Ireland team after a disappointing performance against Belarus on Tuesday, but the Corkman was mild by comparison to O’Neill’s comments.
The Ireland boss was speaking in Cork last night, at an event in the Opera House hosted by Today FM.
Martin O'Neill said "Eamon Dunphy wasn't a great player ... He wasn't even a good player"! #bonvoyageBIG
— Mairead Ronan (@cocomairead) June 1, 2016
He was asked if he was bothered by criticism of him and his squad, levelled by Dunphy.
“It doesn’t bother me in the slightest…seriously,” he answered. “To be criticised by a failed manager is bad enough but to be criticised by a failed player like Eamon Dunphy?”
Ouch.
That wasn’t enough of a burn though, O’Neill want on to discuss Dunphy’s playing career in more depth.
“I have to have a laugh at this, I heard Eamon once said, and I can’t do the Dublin accent, ‘I was a good player, not a great player.’
“No Eamon, you weren’t even a good player.”
He continued: “You can’t call yourself a good player if you’ve never played in the big league.
“He couldn’t make the grade at Manchester United and he’s been pontificating for years.”
There is no questioning O’Neill’s own credentials as a player and a manager. He won the European Cup twice with Nottingham Forest as a player and has gone on to manage at the highest level in England and Scotland.
But while he may have the upper hand personally, one wonders what some of his players, many of whom have spent large parts of their careers in the Championship and lower leagues, think of his remarks.
Martin O'Neill has had a cut at Eamon Dunphy, pointing out level he played at. The same level as many of O'Neill's players...
— Kieran Cunningham (@KCsixtyseven) June 2, 2016
And plenty of people who haven’t played at the highest levels go on to have successful careers in management.
Martin O'Neill slagging off Dunphy for being a "failed player" is ridiculous - you can be a good pundit irrespective of your career...
— Cíaran S MacAongusa (@321Kieran) June 2, 2016
A little too harsh maybe, Martin?
