Armagh manager Keiran McGeeney has denied putting his players through double training sessions over the Christmas period.
Amid the recent furore surrounding Joe Brolly telling Off The Ball that modern day footballers are like "indentured slaves", it was alleged that McGeeney was putting his squad through an arduous training regime over the festive season.
But the 2002 All Ireland-winning captain, in a one-one-one interview with Colm 'Wolly' Parkinson on Off The Ball last night, refuted any such claims.
The suggestion came in an article dated January 15 in the Irish Examiner, wherein Paddy Heaney took up Brolly's concerns and wrote:
'This column has discovered what exactly the Armagh players were doing in December. Here’s a sample.
On Tuesday December 16, Thursday December 18, Friday December 19 and Saturday December 20, they trained twice a day.
Then they broke for Christmas.
Armagh’s Yuletide festivities were formally brought to a close when the players returned for a three-day training camp which was held on December 28, 29 and 30. Again, the players trained twice a day during that camp.
Brolly believes that Armagh’s training regime is symptomatic of “a game that has slowly but surely turned toxic”.'
But when asked by Wooly about double training sessions, McGeeney responded: “You know it’s not true.”
"Paddy Heaney had pretty specific dates in the Examiner,” Wooly replied, to which the Mullaghbawn native countered: "He did. He was told those dates. That particular week he was on about, we trained the Tuesday night, the Thursday night, the Friday he was on about we had out Christmas party. The Saturday was [Armagh fullback] Charlie Vernon’s wedding. So the fellas did more drinking that week than training.
"And he was told that – but they still want to go ahead and print it. What can I do. The think about it is, I even said it to you – that those dates were wrong. I can’t tell lies about it – there were 40 people at those training sessions."
You can listen to the full interview here:
Dublin's All Ireland-winning captain Bryan Cullen told Off The Ball at the weekend that their training during the glory year of 2011 was "not sustainable", and McGeeney is adamant his squad are not enduring the same routine.
“We haven’t done [double training sessions] with Armagh – ever," he continued. "For all the people who like to run with the story, I’ll say it again, this is about he 15th time I’ve said it. We haven’t done it.
"I’m not saying it isn’t a good idea. Loads of teams have done it in the past. Pat Gilroy has done it, Clare have done it. All of them have done. It seems to be - even though I haven’t done it , it seems to be a problem if I did do it.”
(l-r) MC Darren Frehill, Mayo's Seamus O'Shea, Kerry's Paul Geaney, Kildare manager Jason Ryan and Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney at the 2015 Allianz Football League launch in Croke Park yesterday ©INPHO/Donall Farmer
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