Former Laois footballer and Newstalk radio presenter Colm Parkinson has lauded Galway's hurlers and the footballers of Mayo for not going with "the easy option".

Last Monday saw the saga between Galway's senior hurlers and manager Anthony Cunningham come to an end with the latter's resignation, whilst Pat Holmes and Noel Connelly walked away from their co-managerial posts after just a year in charge of Mayo.

Writing in his column in today's Irish Independent, Parkinson expressed sympathy for the managers but claimed that the players' conviction should be respected.

"Players don't have time to waste on managers they believe can't help them improve. I actually have a lot of sympathy for the three managers ousted and I'm sure they believe they were doing a good job," wrote the Portlaoise man.

"But instead of calling it a 'pathetic cop-out' I think the Mayo and Galway panels' decisions were incredibly brave. The easy option is to go with the flow, despite being unhappy, and keep your head down. Mayo and Galway players knew they would receive a massive backlash but stuck together and to their convictions despite the intense pressure.

Parkinson also had some interesting words for former Clare hurling boss Ger Loughnane, who slammed the Galway players for going against Cunningham.

"There is a large section of GAA supporters and commentators that believe the Galway hurlers and Mayo footballers are disrespectful upstarts," he wrote.

"Ger Loughnane went so far as to say the Galway lads 'didn't deliver when the pressure came on. Blaming the manager is a pathetic cop-out' .This is a red herring of the highest order. I'd love Ger to tell us exactly how the players blamed Anthony Cunningham for their All-Ireland loss."

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