Matthews responds to "ill-informed opinions"

It may have gone unnoticed, but Cork City won their ninth domestic away game in succession on Friday night. Given the happenings of the last week it was hardly surprising that Cork fans had other things on their mind. Rumour and speculation have been rife on Leeside regarding what exactly is going on at the troubled club. Their press office issued a brief statement on Thursday, as did the FAI, however neither were overly forthcoming with information.

Following the final whistle at Tolka Park, and in the absence of a Chairman or Chief Executive making themselves available, Cork City Manager Alan Matthews was left to field all the difficult questions relating to the financial problems at the club.

After defeat to Bohemians last Friday night, Mathews declined to get involved or comment on anything other than football matters - however that was a position that he found increasingly difficult to stick with as the week passed, and by Friday night, with his team in the hat for the next round of the FAI Cup, he decided to speak candidly about recent events.

The reality at the moment

The former Longford manager started off by announcing that - "Ill informed opinion appeared in all the various guises of media during the week, some were accurate, quite a lot of it was inaccurate - which didn't make it difficult to motivate the team. I think we responded in the best way possible by putting in a really good performance."

Cork were solid from start to finish. Owen Doyle may have struck the woodwork for the hosts in the first half, but after a slowish start in the first twenty to twenty five minutes, Cork clawed their way into the game, and could have easily been one or two up at half time. A second half goal from Denis Behan was enough to secure victory, and not once over the course of the game were Cork's players found wanting in application or for effort.

Mathews continued - "The reality is at this moment in time is that there are a numbers of issues around the club regarding the finances. I don't immerse myself in the nitty gritty, I deal with the Chief Executive. Its been well documented that there are issues. I have not got or sought specific instructions regarding the levels of indebtedness"

"I am aware there are a number of activities going on to encourage people to get involved with the club. The options open to the club are all being explored. Examiner ship for any limited company is an option but at the digression of a judge. If the club decide to go down that route, fine, we will work our way through it. There are issues, and you would not be human if you were not somewhat concerned"

"I do believe that in this turbulent time with everyone working together, on the pitch, off the pitch, supporters and stakeholders, in a positive manner, we will come through it, and once we keep doing the stuff on the pitch, which is my brief, it will help us sort it out off the pitch.

"I don't pour over the accounts or the cashflows, i don't get involved in any of that, but I'm confident in the people working behind the scenes that we will come through it and with a positive outcome."

Mis-truths in the Media

Mathews was quick to let it be known that he was disappointed about some of things that had been printed and reported - "The club have applied for Examinership - not true. We are in such a bad state that we are sticking over former players jerseys - inaccurate, wrong. Little things like that. Meals and hotels not paid, not true. Just not true and it gives the wrong picture of the club."

It was also widely reported that the club owes kit suppliers Hummel a figure in the region of €100,000, and that the owners of Turners Cross, The Munster Football Association, were also due a small sum of money. These issues were not referred to at any stage by Mathews.

The Meeting with Gerard Walsh

It was reported by local media in recent weeks that Mathews travelled to London to meet with the Gerard Walsh of Arkaga. Extratime.ie asked if this meeting did in fact take place, and if he gave any indication that his relationship with Cork was about the change - "That's a fact - I went over to meet Mr Walsh, and had a very pleasant day with him, and we discussed a number of issues at the club in a very positive way. Contractual issues, finance issues going forward, resources, the league, the overall landscape of the game in Ireland. We discussed a number of issues. It was a particularly positive meeting."

"No player, or no expenditure surrounding the team has ever been incurred without permission. Reckless spending is not going on here, as has been reported. Everything has been within parameters of budget, and also signed off and permitted. It was a general meeting over the current state of affairs at the club. I would be in contact with the man on an ongoing basis, so that's what that was about"

To hear Mathews speak about the meeting in such positive terms was a surprise. When asked if he was therefore shocked by the events of the last week to ten days he bluntly responded "Yes absolutely"

The implication from all this would seem to be that Walsh misrepresented the facts of the situation, however this was something Mathews was not willing to comment upon - "I'm not going to make a comment on that. Like everything, things change."

Club will continue

Cork has a long history of football clubs folding, and being replaced by new entities. Refreshingly that is not something that Mathews thinks is going to happen on this occasion - "The club is a good club, great tradition, terrific support base. Perhaps the business model needs to be altered, no problem with that, nothing is cast in stone, Perhaps things need to be corrected to sustain the club going forward and that's not unusual given the current climate we are finding ourselves in"

And Mathews sees the players and management as having a huge role to play in ensuring the future of the club - "One of the things that is paramount is the attitude of the players - its been terrific, I really really cant speak highly enough of them. I have every belief that will continue and with that attitude from the players I think that will drag this thing through with the support of all in the club. Our job is to go out and do the job on the pitch and if we continue to that I'm confident. But going forward I'm very very confident."

Lots to play for

With two thirds of the season gone, Cork are sitting third in the table on forty two points. Considering the slow start they had, it speaks volumes about how Mathews has moulded together a side that is well organised, concede few goals, and are a constant threat in attack. While the league title is looking beyond their grasp at the moment, they are perfectly positioned to ensure a UEFA Cup spot with a couple of games to spare. They are of course still involved in all the cup competitions.

Matthews enthused - "We have so much to look forward to on the playing side. We have an awful lot of games that will give us the opportunity to have a very successful season. We are playing for three senior trophies, the FAI Cup , the League Cup, the Setanta Cup, three cup competitions. We are still in with a shout for the league - you don't know whats going to happen there"

At this juncture, both on the financial side, and playing side of things, planning ahead is certainly a difficult, if not impossible thing to do, however Mathews has no problem with that, and has his short term goals clear in his head - "For me, I'm looking at where we are now, seeing if I can get a couple of players in, we have a couple training with us. If we can come through this choppy time, this turbulent time, I'm confident we can progress and push on".

"I'm looking at Cork, the players we have, the club, the support, the ground, and I think yeah, we have a lot going for us, a lot of positives. If we can work this through together, there is a very very strong probability that we will come through this the right way up"

The potential at Cork is certainly as good as, if not better than, any club in the league - however the real question is whether or not a full time professional league is a realistic and viable venture in this country. As long as attendances and wages remain at current levels, and the game fails to attract additional investment, its going to carry on being a major struggle against the odds.

In Mathews, Cork have a pragmatic manager, on and off the field. He may lack the charisma that some managers posses, however he is a leader, and his honesty and straightforwardness is refreshing.