Celtic chairman Brian Quinn has played down an apparent rift with team manager Martin O'Neill over a wages row. Quinn got his numbers wrong when he left a telephone message complaining about O'Neill. Quinn thought he was calling PR consultant Alex Barr, but instead left a message on the mobile of teenager Kayley Elkington of Walsall in England.
"It's Brian here. . . I'm trying to head off yet another storm created by our esteemed manager who has now, I believe, contradicted the numbers I used in the radio interview given this morning," Quinn said in the message. "I'm not going to be made a liar by Martin O'Neill so you are going to have to use your skills to try and defuse this thing. Bye."
O'Neill had dismissed Quinn's statement made in an interview on BBC radio that the Scottish champions spend more on wages than most English clubs. "When you reach my age it's perhaps advisable to steer clear of all new fangled devices like mobile phones!" said Quinn. O'Neill added: "As I said last week, there is absolutely no friction between myself and the chairman or the board, in fact, I find the whole incident quite amusing."
McCaffrey names squad
Republic of Ireland manager Seán McCaffrey has announced his squad for the Uefa Under-19 Championships, second phase qualifying which will take place in Serbia & Montenegro from April 25th-30th. After finishing in second place from the first phase qualifying in a group which included Cyprus, Andorra and Russia, the Irish team will be hoping to capitalise on their recent success when they face tough opposition in Poland, Albania and their hosts, Serbia & Montenegro.
Fixtures - Monday, April 25th: Ireland v Poland, Novi Sad, 5pm; Wednesday, April 27th: Ireland v Albania, Kula, 2pm; Friday, April 29th: Serbia & Montenegro v Ireland, Novi Sad, 5pm.
IRELAND SQUAD: Darren Randolph (Charlton), Terrence Masterson (Millwall), Shane McFaul (Notts County), Darren O'Dea (Celtic), Richard Keogh (Stoke City), Marcos Painter (Birmingham City), Michael Collins (Huddersfield Town), Joseph O'Brien (Bolton), Darron Gibson (Manchester United), Paul Mc Shane (Manchester United), Patrick Cregg (Arsenal), Ian Morris (Leeds United), Steven Foley (Aston Villa), Jonathan Hayes (Reading), Diarmuid O'Carroll (Celtic), Leon Best (Southampton), James Hand (Huddersfield Town), Andrew Keogh (Scunthorpe).
Dundalk pitch delay
Dundalk chief executive Seán Connolly yesterday conceded that the club's new artificial pitch may not be ready for more than another month as work on its installation cannot commence until the FAI confirms its agreement to guarantee a loan being taken out in order to pay for the development. He insisted, however, that the required documentation should come through from Merrion Square within days.
The club, meanwhile, have confirmed that with debts of €200,000, the sale of Hiney Park - a pitch adjacent to Oriel Park - is currently being considered and chairman, Tony O'Kane, said that two offers to take over the club, which is run by a co-operative at present, are on the table. He expressed a preference for a change to the ownership structure.
In Brief. . .
Goalkeeper Stefan Postma has rejected an improved deal to remain at Aston Villa, while midfielder Gavin McCann has been ruled out for the rest of the season after undergoing a second knee operation. Aston Villa fans are to cease all protests against chairman Doug Ellis after the club said funds - believed to be around £20 million - would be made available to David O'Leary. Wolverhampton are to meet their manager Glenn Hoddle this week for a decision on his future following the team's failure to qualify for the Championship play-offs. Finally, former Rangers boss Dick Advocaat has resigned as coach of Borussia Monchengladbach despite the club announcing over the weekend that he was set to remain in charge.
Today'sFixtures
(7.45 unless stated)
ENGLISH FA PREMIERSHIP: Bolton v Southampton (8.0); Middlesbrough v Fulham (8.00).
ENGLISH LEAGUE: Championship: Burnley v QPR; Leicester v Cardiff; Stoke v West Ham. One: Wrexham v Brentford. Two: Macclesfield v Southend.
SETANTA CUP: Group One: Linfield v Glentoran (7.15).
