McNeil sacked by Fort

By Paul Chalk

Published: 29 October, 2009

Drew McNeil

DREW McNeil was sacked by Fort William shinty club this week – just days after the bitter war of words with the club in the Lochaber News.

News of McNeil's sacking broke on Tuesday morning through a press release – although the manager, who predicted his demise in last week's LN, said he had not been officially informed by the An Aird club before it was issued.

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The Camanachd Cup triple-winning manager will be helping Scotland try to win Saturday's massive shinty/hurling international against Ireland in Inverness as one of the assistant coaches.

And he told the LN he "had already moved on" and was focused fully on helping his country sink the Irish for the fifth successive year in his role as assistant coach.

The club's decision to immediately dismiss Mr McNeil and assistant Graeme MacMillan came hours after chairman Richard Gall had insisted to the LN a meeting called for Monday evening was just "a regular monthly committee" gathering.

When quizzed later by the LN about this, Mr Gall refused to elaborate.

Last week, we revealed Mr McNeil's fears over his future, while Mr Gall tried to play down any suggestions that the axe was set to fall.

The club statement released on Tuesday said: "While acknowledging the team's success in winning the Camanachd Cup for the third year in a row, performances in the league and other cup competitions have given cause for concern and it has become increasingly obvious that there has been a breakdown of relationships between the management team and the committee."

Mr McNeil, because of other commitments, could not attend Tuesday's special meeting, but he said his sacking was no surprise as he was no longer wanted by certain members of the committee – despite winning three Scottish cups in succession.

He explained: "My priority is solely now on my work with Scotland this weekend. I am delighted to again be involved with the international set-up and we go into that match with confidence.

"I think my record speaks for itself and winning the Camanachd Cup for the third time in a row when the club had only won it twice before says it all.

"What has happened at Fort William hurts, but it wasn't unexpected. They tried to get rid of me mid-season, so this doesn't come as a shock.

"More important than any trophies I have won, the biggest thing I leave behind from Fort William is the young lads with great potential.

"I used 35 players in the first-team this season and I think that shows that players could easily move back and forth between our teams and playing for this club became second nature to them. The senior squad also deserve a lot of credit because excellent on and off the park."

Injuries and player availability bit hard into Mr McNeil's squads this year and they have finished the term in third place, although they could slide a further two places if Glenurquhart or Kyles Athletic win their games in hand.

Newtonmore are favourites to win the sport's top-flight for the first time, although Kingussie can still nick it from their Badenoch rivals.

Once the dust settles on the weekend's international action, Mr McNeil will ponder his next move within the sport.

Last week, he hinted that – if the axe was going to fall – he'd consider a move into managing another club.

However, on reflection, he feels he would love to highlight the educational benefits of shinty to youngsters, as Fort William Shinty Club actively have done over the years.

He said: "I would love to help get shinty a higher profile. Fort William players have been going into primary schools teaching kids about the opportunities that are out there.

"I would perhaps like to work on helping kids look at their fitness and tackling obesity. Perhaps if the Scottish Government has a role along those lines, it would be ideal.

"I want to now look at the bigger picture, working with youngsters in the community. It's incredible because those kids who learn hand/eye co-ordination concentrate better in the classrooms.

"At Fort William, players were taught about their diet and the downside of alcohol. We were providing this kind of education for nothing, the kind of information large agencies across the country are telling youngsters.

"Working within the community really appeals to me. For example, no-one playing at Fort William is unemployed and Richard Gall deserved credit for the work he has done on that front.

"Perhaps I could team up with Billy Connolly to get the message across – he always said shinty should replace football as Scotland's national sport!"

Mr McNeil hopes that the club he helped as a player and manager win all five of their Camanachd Cups will not suffer from the strides forward they have made under his leadership.

He added: "I don't know what direction the club will now take now and I would hate to think they will go down the slope. We will see, but I have no idea who they will look to appoint."

The remainder of Tuesday's club statement said: "Committee chairman Richard Gall, who was overwhelmingly backed for his handling of this internal issue over the last two months, expressed his thanks to Drew McNeil and Graeme MacMillan for their previous distinguished service to Fort William shinty Club in their playing and managerial capacities.

"Mr Gall said: 'We are hugely indebted to Drew and Graeme for their contribution to the club, but, in the interests of stability and consensus, it is time to move forward in a positive way. We have an extremely skillful and ambitious squad of players, eager to prepare for the new season. To support that, we need to appoint a new management team as soon as possible to commence squad assessment, devise training regimes and arrange friendly matches.'

"It is anticipated that a replacement management team will be appointed within the next few weeks."

Mr Gall refused to answer further questions.

sports@lochaber-news.co.uk