Lord of the Dance
McCarthy offers advice to Troy Deeney after sacking
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McCarthy offers advice to Troy Deeney after sacking

Former Ireland manager Mick McCarthy believes that former Forest Green manager Troy Deeney will learn from his sacking at the club

Deeney, formerly of Watford and the likes of Birmingham, has been sacked from his role with the Forest Green Rovers, a tenure that lasted barely two months.

The reason for this was due to comments made after Forest Green lost 2-0 at home to Harrogate Town two weeks ago.

The display upset Deeney so much that he went on BBC Radio Gloucestershire to criticise 28-year-old Fankaty Dabo specifically for his displays in a Forest Green shirt.

"Dabo was poor and awful again. I just told him he won't be playing on Tuesday," said Deeney to the radio station after the game. "He's not been good enough for five, six, seven, eight, or nine weeks. Why do you think he was dropped at the start? This is the point.

"I just told him in front of everyone. Six months ago, that kid had a chance to go to the Premier League. Now he wouldn't get a game in the National League. Is that me or him? It's a simple question."He's faster than everybody, purely on ability. But he gets run every game and never makes a tackle. Anytime the ball comes to him, he looks like he kicks it with his shin pads."

Deeney came under fire for his comments and has since apologised for them.

Last week, former Ireland boss Martin O'Neill was asked for his thoughts on the matter and claimed that Deeney's comments should have been said behind closed doors and not released to the public for consumption on Talksport.

Another Ireland manager, Mick McCarthy, has now claimed that the dynamics of management are tough and that Deeney will learn lessons from his short Forest Green tenure.

"You learn as you go along, I suppose, as a manager when you come from being a player. Absolutely, you do, yeah. And what you have to learn as well, I guess, is that when you're dealing with them, it's not just the players that you're dealing with," said McCarthy on Talksport.

"You're dealing with the supporters, the directors, the chairman, and the owners—people who are invested in the club. You can forget that sometimes when you just think, 'Well, I'm the coach, I'm the manager, I'm dealing with the players, and I'm going to say it to them, and I'm going to deal with them, but there's all the facets of the club that you have to manage as well.'"

When asked about his experiences in management and how he dealt with that aspect of football management, the Yorkshire man explained that playing the game is all part of the "brutal" industry.

"I used to say, "You spin the plate; keep spinning the plates. "So if I've got a squad of 23, I am spinning 23 plates, and I'm trying to keep them up in the air. And I used to say to TC sometimes, "Somebody's driving me mad; I've got to get shot at him." But I said, "Just spin it, May the 4th, TC. May the 4th." He said, "What are you on about, May 4th?" I said, 'That's when we can get a shot at him. Then, but until that point, you make sure you might get something out of him. He might score a win, or he might do something. Don't alienate him; keep them all together. And then, when you can get the opportunity to change them, you change the players."

"It sounds brutal, but let me tell you, it is because if you don't change them and you lose games, you'll get the sack. And that's brutal."