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Martin O'Neill and Ronald Koeman. PA Wire/PA Images

Ex-Ireland striker calls on feuding O'Neill and Koeman to bury the hatchet

The two managers have been involved in an ongoing dispute over James McCarthy.

IT’S ABOUT TIME Martin O’Neill and Ronald Koeman put their differences to one side and moved on.

The Ireland manager has been involved in a war-of-words with the Everton boss over James McCarthy’s involvement in the squad for last month’s World Cup qualifier.

Midfielder McCarthy, who has been sidelined with recurring hamstring problems in recent weeks, was named in the team to face Wales before being replaced by David Meyler after the warm-up.

Both Koeman and O’Neill criticised each other publicly over the weekend as the feud rumbles on, but Sky Sports pundit Niall Quinn has called on them to end it.

“It’s gone very far at this stage,”says Quinn. “You would have thought a hard-hitting phone call between the two of them was a better solution.

“I believe that the lad should be patted on the back for wanting to play for his country. That’s great. He gave it every shot to play in a big game that he was needed in.

I admire the fact he came and nobody gave him a chance of playing and he was there all week driving to try play.

“Koeman is not getting anything out of this — no credit from what he’s done or said. It is not petty because Seamus’ (Coleman) injury is there, it’s more than that, but I would have expected him to have said something about in one press conference and we move on.

He added: “Martin has always been good at coming back from pressurised situations if somebody calls him out. I remember him being like that even before I knew him when he was doing punditry. If somebody disagreed with him, he’d come straight back in. There was never enough time to think about it, he was so sharp and bright.

“It is played out so much so much bigger these days. The quicker it goes away for the two of them the better. The player should be thought about.”

Shane Long and James McCarthy during the warm up McCarthy did the warm-up before the Wales game but then pulled out of the starting line-up. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO

Former Arsenal, Manchester City and Sunderland striker Quinn is no stranger to the pressures that come hand-in-hand with balancing club and country commitments.

“One time I went back to Sunderland and (manager) Peter Reid said that ‘the tactics today will be you wear a green jersey under ours because you run around more for Ireland’,” he added. “That’s all he said.

“Peter used to get annoyed and say I cared too much about playing for my country. If I had an ankle problem, I’d say I was fine. It was easier in those days because you could tell a physio to get lost!”

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15 Comments
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    Mute Blindside
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    Dec 15th 2021, 12:28 PM

    Hope he does well with Bath but glad he is gone. Never looked like a top class coach.

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    Mute Chris Mc
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    Dec 15th 2021, 1:42 PM

    @Blindside: i wonder will he bring any of the current squad with him.

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    Mute Michael Oats
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    Dec 15th 2021, 12:31 PM

    Nevermind outsider influence in Wessels, we’ve tried the south African style of rugby and its pants. Just started to get away from it too but now larkham has upped sticks… Bring Prendergast home, give him what and who he wants and give munster back some bit of an identity.

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    Mute David Finn
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    Dec 15th 2021, 12:54 PM

    @Michael Oats: Prendergast as Head Coach with Jackman on his coaching team is the way to go.

    38
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    Mute TL55
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    Dec 15th 2021, 1:25 PM

    @David Finn: Why Jackman? He didn’t exactly set the world on fire at either Grenoble or Dragons. Also GR is a fine forwards coach imo.

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    Mute Michael Oats
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    Dec 15th 2021, 2:19 PM

    @David Finn: christ no, not jackman. He’s best served as an analyst. Coaching hasn’t really played out for the guy, sure he couldn’t even keep bective rangers up in the AIL with a massive budget

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    Mute PScald
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    Dec 15th 2021, 4:29 PM

    @David Finn: LMAO. Jackman no thanks

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    Mute Ciaran Kennedy
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    Dec 15th 2021, 5:42 PM

    @TL55: in fairness he did well enough at Grenoble. Dragons fair enough but that was always a bit high risk

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    Mute Harry Leahy
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    Dec 15th 2021, 9:50 PM

    @Michael Oats: Bernard stepped in after Bective dropped out of AIL in 2019. Bective are in the mix to go back up this year. Bernard is doing a great job and we are grateful to have him!

    20
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    Mute Michael Oats
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    Dec 16th 2021, 8:46 AM

    @Harry Leahy: last job = junior rugby. Would it be fair to say there’s a massive jump up to coaching a provincial side? And how much coin has he thrown around since 2019 he would want to be getting them in the top half of the table

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    Mute Harry Leahy
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    Dec 16th 2021, 11:51 AM

    @Michael Oats: “he couldn’t even keep bective rangers up in AIL”. He came in after we went down. I take my hat off to him for getting involved in Junior Rugby and doing something very positive. He attends every 2nds league match and much more besides. He is huge addition to our club, we are lucky to have him.

    I will let others judge him on his professional record but not knock him for his involvement with Bective and Community Rugby.

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    Mute Michael Oats
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    Dec 16th 2021, 12:57 PM

    @Harry Leahy: he attends every seconds league match….. As does every coach who’s training a first xv at every club in the country. He’s not doing it for the love of the community at all for god sake, 60 bags of sand per annum and still can’t get up. Come on now, give over a small bit

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    Mute Sally Maher
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    Dec 15th 2021, 12:49 PM

    It’s not Munster’s style to be airing background stuff in public, hope a cap is put on it now ,whole scenario is turning toxic and very unprofessional.

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    Mute Leroy Jenkins
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    Dec 15th 2021, 1:53 PM

    Would love to see Conor O’Shea in as a director of rugby. I know he’s recently gotten a high up position with the RFU but I think he would be an ideal candidate. With Prendergast as a head/attacking coach.

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    Mute Sally Maher
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    Dec 15th 2021, 2:40 PM

    @Leroy Jenkins: Agreed, looks like we need a steadying influence now with all the toxic stuff behind this.

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    Mute Andy Dwyer
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    Dec 15th 2021, 3:13 PM

    @Leroy Jenkins: That’s probably a very good shout and one of the best suggestions I’ve seen over the last few months.

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    Mute Reg Gordon
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    Dec 15th 2021, 10:37 PM

    @Leroy Jenkins: probably the first smart comment I’ve seen here in a while

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    Mute Kevin50
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    Dec 15th 2021, 12:32 PM

    Thanks JVG but maybe everyone would agree he has taken this team as far as he could and its time for change for both he and the team ….love to have ROG but URC might be a step backwards for a Top14 coach

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    Mute Davedental
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    Dec 15th 2021, 4:00 PM

    It’s pretty shocking that this magic clause exists in these contracts for sharks like Erasmus to exploit. Did Munster not learn from previous mistakes? Van Gran has looked after number one which he is entitled do …. Yet another journeyman South African coach shafting Munster . The time is right to give an Irishman the job. We seem to be enamoured in this country with foreign talent when we have loads of good candidates who are almost entitled to the job…. My vote would be prendergast….

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    Mute Reg Gordon
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    Dec 15th 2021, 4:57 PM

    @Davedental: every player and every coach is a “journeyman”. It’s what they do when they are in the job that counts

    If ROG came back do you think this would be his last job?

    For the record I think ROG is way to ambitious to come to Munster now. There are other mountains to climb for him before he would even countenance moving to Munster I feel.

    27
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    Mute Ronan
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    Dec 15th 2021, 5:24 PM

    @Davedental: he will have been here for 5 years, hardly a flash in the pan. Its probably a natural end, especially without trophies to date. A simple thanks, you have done a lot for us and best of luck in the new job is all that needs to be said on this.

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    Mute Davedental
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    Dec 15th 2021, 5:49 PM

    @Reg Gordon: a journeyman in this situation is a pretty bang average coach who at best has steadied the ship without winning anything. ROG won’t touch the Munster job….. his ego is far too big! He’s going for the Irish job after Andy I reckon ….

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    Mute Ciaran Kennedy
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    Dec 15th 2021, 5:50 PM

    @Davedental: isn’t Rassy the only other recent SA head coach we had (if ever)? So you consider the guy who turned a shambles of team into world cup winners in about a year to be a journeyman. We can all sleep easy knowing you don’t get a vote then

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    Mute Davedental
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    Dec 15th 2021, 6:30 PM

    @Ciaran Kennedy: don’t forget Rassy shafted Munster too mate, he left in a hurry after doing very little of note . He then for some reason got to personally recommend Van Gran too. He did well I SA TBF but showed his true colours again very quickly…All I’m saying is that an Irishman should get the job…. There are a few outstanding candidates now where they haven’t been before…

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    Mute Frantic Pigeon
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    Dec 15th 2021, 7:39 PM

    @Davedental: it’s better than the 2 or 4 weeks notice most employment contracts require.
    In what world is someone not allowed to leave a job if they wish to?

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    Mute Patrick Breen
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    Dec 15th 2021, 8:59 PM

    @Davedental: But yet if ROG or Prendergast did tthe same to Racing or La Rochelle that would all be rosy in the garden coz it benefits Munster. Talking about shafting Munster, I think ye really need to have a look at yereselves, and ask why coaches are running away. What has made JVG leave a job he’s in, to move to a less competitive club. Probably money, but the question is still there. When Lam left us, I was asking myself the same things, and part of it was he didn’t want to deal with the IRFU, part of it was Bristol came with a huge offer, but the big one I think was Bristol came with a plan where he didn’t have to operate on a shoestring budget for everything from players to facilities.

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    Mute Reg Gordon
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    Dec 15th 2021, 10:40 PM

    @Patrick Breen: lam was very clear that after the death of Axel Foley he reassessed his life and the money on offer from Bristol was the reason he left.
    It was refreshing to hear that honesty and not the usual “ I have gone as far as I can with this squad ….”

    3
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    Mute Mike Kelly
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    Dec 15th 2021, 4:27 PM

    What does he mean by “a true rugby city” ? What a strange thing to say

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    Mute Simon Reardon
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    Dec 15th 2021, 5:26 PM

    ‘Moving to a proud rugby club and true rugby city ‘ is a bad dig

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    Mute Paul Burke
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    Dec 15th 2021, 7:20 PM

    @Simon Reardon: wouldn’t be reading too much into it , he had to start on a positive note and we wish him well wherever it takes him

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    Mute Chris Mc
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    Dec 15th 2021, 10:03 PM

    @Simon Reardon: sounds bitter to me. A true rugby city. Thats some cheap shot.

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    Mute Richard James
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    Dec 16th 2021, 11:01 PM

    @Simon Reardon: Bath IS a true rugby city – it’s entirely to have more than one ‘true rugby city’ in Europe. Clermont is a ‘true rugby city’.

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    Mute Scott Crossfield
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    Dec 15th 2021, 12:35 PM

    Mad he had his head turned after signing but still it’s done now. Interesting to see who comes forward and what backroom team they bring with them. The next appointment has to drive the club on or they fall further behind the top teams in Europe

    23
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    Mute Bopper Bops Holland
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    Dec 15th 2021, 3:49 PM

    Absolute bellox ! Signed a 2 year contract, Bath came in, deal done ! There was issues in recent months, laughable

    24
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    Mute Ronan
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    Dec 15th 2021, 5:28 PM

    Safe to say signing international SH players is now a waste of money, between the rugby championship, no URC games during November and 6N Windows you are paying massive money for about December, January, April and May, 4 months of rugby if they stay injury free. No matter how good they are it’s not worth it.

    21
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    Mute Anton Phelan
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    Dec 15th 2021, 4:30 PM

    One centre and one second row to follow him

    18
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    Mute Joe Mc
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    Dec 15th 2021, 4:32 PM

    Munster have the players,the talent is there but they need a top coach at this stage to bring some badly needed silverware. Sadly a good foreign manager is probably needed….pay top money because a good one is 50% of the way to success, I hope they wont end up with a yellow pack leader

    14
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    Mute Mark Smith
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    Dec 15th 2021, 12:38 PM

    Last man out put the lights off.

    Very worrying drip drip feed of negative leaks and it’s never good to hang your dirty washing out in public

    42
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    Mute Frantic Pigeon
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    Dec 15th 2021, 5:30 PM

    This private benefactor stuff is a double edged sword.
    The money is needed to attract marquee players , but It’ll be tough to pull in a top level coach if they think they’ll have to deal with some rich muppets trying to influence things.

    If someone wants to help a club, great, but it should be made very clear they don’t get to dictate how things work.

    14
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    Mute SomeGuy
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    Dec 15th 2021, 6:08 PM

    @Frantic Pigeon: Absolutely they should have a say! English and French clubs are all privately owned and look how well they’ve done when clueless management are held accountable like businessmen would be.

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    Mute Frantic Pigeon
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    Dec 15th 2021, 7:36 PM
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    Mute Paddy Murphy
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    Dec 15th 2021, 4:36 PM

    Bath will be in the Championship next season!!

    12
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    Mute Risteard Harpúr
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    Dec 15th 2021, 4:40 PM

    @Paddy Murphy: no relegation this year…

    17
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    Mute ChronicAnxiety
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    Dec 15th 2021, 6:14 PM

    Coaching a second division side, not in the Champions cup?
    Must be paing a lot, or things are toxic in Munster.

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    Mute Reg Gordon
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    Dec 15th 2021, 10:43 PM

    @ChronicAnxiety: no relegation this year

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    Mute Ro Molloy
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    Dec 15th 2021, 5:48 PM

    “A proven track record of developing successful teams on the pitch”.

    He can’t be talking about Van Grann surely who has won nothing. Anyway I think Bath are about to witness a few more winless years.

    These English clubs really throw money around like confetti at a wedding. Lamb at Bristol is given a five year deal (and has had a disaster since) so you would assume VG is getting something similar at Bath. It’s a gravy train for coaches and they would be mad to turn their noses up to it. Big money, long contract. Even if it goes pear shaped they will walk away with some serious money in the pocket. Win, won for the coaches involved. More Dumb and dumber management for the Premiership clubs.

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    Mute rugbyanbeer
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    Dec 15th 2021, 10:33 PM

    Reading the Indo,it looks like the Historically incompetent Munster Board may have been given a get out of Jail card. The guy delivered no Trophies imported SA players, blocked young talent There is a massive potential there and he was not the man to mine it.So maybe the new guy will.But I will not be shocked if Munster balls this up

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    Mute Tombmunster
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    Dec 15th 2021, 9:03 PM

    Conor O’Shea or Lancaster. With O’Gara, O’Connell and Felix Jones.

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    Mute Tony Joyce
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    Dec 15th 2021, 9:28 PM

    @Tombmunster: Hands off our Stuart. He’s going nowhere, for now.

    5
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