Former Ireland boss Martin O'Neill has claimed that during his tenure, he felt like an outsider to the press because he was from the north of the country.
Kilrea native O'Neill was capped 64 times for the Northern Ireland national football team, also captaining the side at the 1982 World Cup during his career.
He also managed a number of clubs after his playing days, one of which was the Republic of Ireland team.
O'Neill held the Irish reins from 2013 to 2018 and guided the team to Euro 2016 with Roy Keane as his assistant coach. However, after a string of poor results, O'Neill was replaced by Mick McCarthy in 2018.
This week, O'Neill sat down on the Stick to Football podcast to join Keane and others to discuss all things football.
Some individuals from the north have felt like they don't belong in the Republic because of historic ties, and O'Neill claimed this week that while he was Ireland manager, he felt like an outlier when dealing with the Irish press in Dublin.
"The press lads in Dublin... I never really got in with them—I have said this before, and they say it's nonsense, but I felt a bit like an outsider," O'Neill said. "I'm from Northern Ireland. I had been a Northern Ireland player and captain of the side, but I never felt any problems with the crowd because a lot of Irish fans would be Celtic fans."
Although O'Neill had issues with the scribes in the south, he claimed it was never the case with the Irish fans who came to games.
"We never had a problem with the crowds; the crowds came in droves to the games, so we had to get the very best out of them for a couple of days' work, and with respect, we weren't the most skilful side."
The Republic of Ireland failed to reach the World Cup as Christian Eriksen's hat trick gave Denmark an emphatic victory in the playoff to reach Russia 2018.
O'Neill recounted the first question from a journalist after the rout, which was rhetorically asked if the defeat was a sackable offence.
"We score first, we miss two good chances after that, but because we had only drawn at home, the away goals were going to count at this stage. They hit just before halftime; Eriksen had a blinding game and scored a hat trick.
"The first interview I do afterwards, the fellow, who's primed anyway, says, 'Is this not a sackable offence?'"
Here's hoping the Ireland team can make it to more major tournaments like they did under the O'Neill tenure.
See More: Keane, Martin O'Neill
