'Desperation' - Pat Spillane's controversial opinion on Mickey Harte joining Offaly

Former RTE Sunday Game analyst Pat Spillane has lambasted Offaly's appointment of Mickey Harte as joint manager as "bonkers" in a column in the Sunday World.

The Kerry great made the comments just days after Mickey Harte was unveiled to the media in Offaly and attended his first senior club championship game between Rhode and Tullamore on Sunday.

There was widespread surprise in GAA circles when the former Tyrone All-Ireland-winning manager Harte was announced by Offaly GAA. Having left Derry, there was much interest in the veteran boss's next move in football.

Spillane, writing in his column said, "I thought Davy Fitzgerald’s move to Antrim was bonkers, but Harte’s appointment is even more bonkers."

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He said the odds of the move being a success were "stacked against Offaly and Harte."

He did point out that Mickey Harte is a proven winner and will get respect and buy-in from a happy dressing room in Offaly. However, he noted Harte's last All-Ireland success was 16 years ago and that "the game has moved on," adding, "it is questionable whether his tactics have."

Spillane claimed the move looked like "love on the rebound," adding, "these stories, whether in life or sport, rarely have a happy ending."

"Frankly, it smacks of desperation on his part to stay at the coalface of the GAA, which is not a good starting point," he wrote.

He also labelled some of the contents of Offaly GAA's statement announcing the Harte appointment as "gobbledygook" where they talk about his genuine interest in their football team. "Pull the other one," Spillane wrote.

"I have often written about how sports stars and managers rarely get it right when it comes to last hurrahs.

"My two great mates, Mick O’Dwyer and Páidí Ó Sé, were classic examples. The latter managed Clare in 2007 and then Micko, at the age of 76, went to the same county five years later. Both tenures ended badly," he concluded.