Dundalk FC :: News

12 APRIL 2008: GILL CLARIFIES ORIELWEB COMMENTS

Dundalk manager John Gill has clarified his comments following Dundalk's 1-0 victory over Waterford United last Thursday night. Gill's frustration with comments on the orielweb messageboard come to a head when he criticised supporters who posted on the orielweb forum for being "knockers" who have been overly critical of himself and his players. Speaking at the launch of the Soccer Superstar Challenge in the Marshes on Saturday afternoon, Gill told dundalkfc.com, "It was not my intention to generalise and to suggest that every supporter that uses the forum are just "knockers" and I'm sorry if that is how it has come out. My comments were directed at a number of contributors who are constantly negative and have been since I arrived at the club. I did not mean to tar everybody with the same brush"

Balanced comments
"I know the forum can be a real lifeline for people who are abroad and can't make the games and that most supporters are able to make their points in a balanced way without being personal. However, I stand by my

comments about those people who seem to have a vendetta against me and the club. These people have been critical of me since I started at the club and I have had players and members of my family telling me about what is posted on it. It is frustrating. My record as manager is a big improvement on previous managers. I have a 78% win/draw record since I arrived at the club after getting off to a bad start. There are certain individuals, and they know who they are, that are just out to knock me and the club. These individuals believe they have a right to attack me. I believe I have a right to defend myself and my players. If they can give criticism then they should be able to accept criticism."

Criticism
When asked if criticism is part and parcel of being a footballer, Gill replied "Yes of course it is. Supporters have the right to be critical. But criticism should be constructive and generalised and not personal. I know that a player like Trevor Vaughan is very popular with the supporters. He was voted by supporters as their Player of the Year last season and the supporters were singing his name last Thursday night. Yet we have some individuals saying he can't play 90 minutes anymore. Most Dundalk supporters, like the ones that sang his name last week, don't believe that. We are a team that wins together and loses together. I was very critical of the team in my post match comments after the Fingal game but I didn't castigate any individuals. At this stage a number of comments of a personal nature have been reported regarding some players. Maybe I went over the top in my comments but I believe I have to stand up for myself and my players. It's early in the season and we are three points clear. We are the joint highest goalscorers and we have the best defensive record. When we don't perform I acknowledge that fact like I did against Fingal. It's part of my job to manage expectations. If some people's expectations are higher than being top of the league then I think they should take a look at themselves. This is a tough league. Anybody can beat anybody else. There will be peaks and troughs through this campaign but hopefully we can come through it.."

Moving forward
"I am not going to talk anymore about the internet. The people that my comments were directed against know who they are. Again, I genuinely didn't mean to generalise my comment to include everybody who uses the forum. The people who attack me and my players expect us to just accept it. I hope they are man enough to accept my criticism in the same way. I have the same right to free speech and the same right to defend myself. From this point I won't be talking about the forum. I really don't want to know what is on it. Maybe I take things too much to heart as I am working very hard here. I have asked the players to stop telling me about it and I have asked the members of my family to stop looking at it. We have big job here this season and I need my players and myself to stay focused. I strongly believe that I had a right to defend ourselves against these attacks and now that I have done that I will move on. I will be attending the DFC Trust fans forum on April 24th when I will answer any questions or concerns that supporters may have."

Next up Limerick
"We have Limerick on Friday which is always a tough game. All of our attention is on that game and we believe we can keep up our good start. We performed very well in the second half on Thursday night and if we perform at that level we will be very difficult to beat."