TEASER | Former Monaghan Manager GABRIEL BANNIGAN breaks his silence on Monaghan EXIT | OFF THE BALL BREAKFAST

0:00This is a free off the ball podcast. For access to the best GAA analysis from the likes of Tommy Welch, Richie Hogan, Shemus Flanagan, Sarah Donovan, Pat Ryan, Jim Gavin, Darnos Olven, Steven Rossert and David Highland, we're coming off the ball member today. Join in the obsession. Subscribe now at offtheball.com for its last join. The off the ball rugby roach show is coming to your province. Join some of the biggest stars from Lenscher, Monster, Ulster and Connucked as we travel around the country to preview the 2026-27 rugby season. Don't miss your chance to be there. Get your tickets now at offtheball.com for its last events. I would look at Shane, I always take to the facts and the facts are that what happened was I sat down with the county board about six weeks ago. And I got unanimous approval to a 100% support to go ahead and strengthen my backroom team.

1:00I discussed the areas that I wanted to add to. So there was no question about that whatsoever. I went off and I put the work into that. That takes time. It takes time. It takes conversations. It takes speaking to a lot of people who I trust in the game. And to get my... To try and bring people who I thought were going to add serious value to what we already had. And everything that I did in my two years was around trying to build and improve and add incrementally to what we were doing. And I went back and I sat down a couple of weeks ago with the same people from the county board. And it was very clear to me that the goalpost had shifted, as I said. And what I mean by that very simply is that suddenly it didn't really matter who I brought back. So... And I was told...

2:02Specifically in terms of the coach I arrived back with a couple of weeks ago... And let me put it this way. It wasn't a big enough name for some people. Now, I've never been one that's been into... It's not about big names in my opinion. Never was. It's about hard work. It's about people with the right attributes, right focus, right skill set. People who are going to add value, but people who are going to work hard. And people who are going to be a really good fit within what I want to... I want to toprate as a management team and a really good fit in terms of adding value to what is a... A predominantly young squad in terms of developing them further and bringing us on. Another few inches because we are really close. We were a kick of a ball away from winning the Oscar final. We were a kick of a ball away from being the all-around semi-final.

3:05So it's not as if everything in the house needed to be cleared out. And we needed to build a new house. We didn't. This was about adding incrementally to what we had in my opinion. But that was my opinion. And that's what I felt was right for bringing my hand football forward. But others who seemed to have changed. And the reaction I got to the man that I was talking about was that wasn't big enough name. Now this is a super guy, great coach and experience. Right profile, progressive, hungry, ambitious. And a lot of silverware to back that up. But in some people's opinion, not a big enough name. So I said that even I said, look at Lads back me. Or if you're not back on me, I presume you want me to go. So I left the meeting, drove back up the road the next morning.

4:05I got a phone call and I was told, Gabriel, you know, we do want to back you. We don't want to change the manager. But could you, could you add to it? Could you go further? And I said, what do you mean by that? And could, well, could you get anybody else to along with what you're talking about? That would make it even stronger. I said, I want to be sure I could, but that will take time. And it's also will mean additional cost because obviously when you're operating within a tight budget as we are in Manohan, then that always has to be taken into consideration. So I went on often and I had a few more conversations and the following Monday, which was last Monday week now at this stage, I got a phone call to ask me how was getting on. And I said, I'm getting on really well. I'm close. It's going to take another couple of days and the pressure was coming on then. Well, you know, we need to bring this to a head.

5:06And I said, well, I can only do so much. And but I had a follow up meeting with that guy on the second person. I was talking to on the wednester and that went extremely well. What was another couple of things happened on that wednester specifically. I got a follow up phone call to ask me, well, where was that? And I said, I said, yeah, I'm literally have a meeting this afternoon. It's looking very positive and basically then the guys and distance were the force in the hand. They were anxious to the county committee at met the night before and they decided that myself and whoever I was bringing forward was going to meet the full panel, the following Monday even at half six and present our worries for one of the better way of putting it.

6:07And which I thought was ridiculous. And I said, there was no way that I would be agree into that. Made no sense whatsoever. You're back and me or you're not. And that evening, what's up, we're into the wider group doing exactly that. Calling that meeting. And the following morning I spoke to the county chairman and I said to him that, yeah, I said, sad, the ridiculous thing here is I have my second man and he's mad, keen. And I said, we'd have to we I have no doubt we're going to have a strong coach and take it as there is in the country. And he said to me that it didn't make any difference that it didn't matter what I brought forward. It wasn't going to make any difference to some people who swiped what to me and never even asked me to name. So when I say the goal post moved and the sport that I had the previous six weeks was

7:13gone. And I couldn't be any more honest about it than that. It was gone. There's no point in saying it. It wasn't. It was gone. And therefore when I said the conditions were not right for me to continue. Well, the conditions were not right for me to continue. When you say that about the goal post moving and even when you say they're about feeling like it didn't matter who you brought back. It didn't matter when you say that. Do you mean that potentially somebody within the board had picked who they wanted and they had their man in mind and it didn't matter who you brought that it had to be someone specific that do you think in the next week or so that'll become clear in the public who. Yeah. It possibly will. But look, there's so much speculation and I don't really want to deal in speculation. I just want to stick to the facts. Because I don't know what exactly has gone on in the background. I did refer to the fact that clearly there were dark arts involved and there clearly is dark arts involved because otherwise things couldn't have changed into where they

8:17did. Now what does all that, what does all I mean, I don't know whether I'll ever know the the full extent or the full truth. But very clearly there was there was things happen behind the scenes. I don't think I don't think that things can happen behind the scenes without there being some involvement of those in charge. I don't think they can. But and a time will tell whether that turns out to be the case. But look, it's going to be whatever happens going forward, it'll be presented in a particular way anyway. It doesn't change the fact that there was things going on behind my back and clearly those whatever was going on behind my back was being facilitated in certain places. And dark arts obviously and people can use their imaginations for all of those things. But we're all here in your hair in the same room as that everyone else around. And Montagier circles are here and to be honest in terms of whether people are being lined

9:20up or whether another thing that often happens behind scenes is player power. But you didn't hear any word of players being. Oh no, I did. Oh no, I did. I did. And I'll be very honest about that. Yeah, look, I was aware of the fact that two senior older players did make contact with and I was told this by the country board, did make contact about six weeks ago to say that they would like a they would like a dead heart that a clean slate was required. So new management team. So the county board is aware of that. And the county board mandated me said, no, no, they didn't want to change a manager and they mandated me to go and do what I did. That changed over the period of time. When I specifically asked one of the county board members who rang me last Tuesday when

10:23he said, made a comment about as a caribbean and some of your senior players want to want to clean slate. I said senior players because that's just enough. A lot of players contacted me and let me know how much they want me to stay to stay. So what can you be more specific than that? And he said, yeah, well, it might be more accurate to say some of the older players in your panel. And this is not new news to me, to be honest with you, because two years ago when I was going for the job, a couple of these same characters tried everything possible to try and make sure that I didn't go for the job or get the job. And so what I got the job and I got on with the job. And as I always do, there was no recriminations. I got on with the job and did it, made every decision that I felt was right from Anna and football in terms of the way we progressed, the environment that was created, the way

11:26we operated, the level of coaching, the level of detail, the level of preparation. And that was delivered in terms of the level of performance, the players we brought through, the progress we made, all of those things. And I have absolutely no regrets over any of that. This is a free off the ball podcast for access to the best GA analysis from the likes of Tommy Welch, Richie Hogan, Sheamus Flanagan, Sarah Donovan, Pat Ryan, Jim Gavin, Darnos Solven, Stephen Rostrid and David Highland. We're coming off the ball member today. Join in the obsession. Subscribe now at offtheball.com for its last join. The off the ball rugby roach show is coming to your province. Join some of the biggest stars from Lenscher, Monster, Ulster and Connacht as we travel around the country to preview the 2026-27 rugby season. Don't miss your chance to be there. Get your tickets now at offtheball.com for its last events.