James Horan has hit back at Bernard Flynn's criticism of Aidan O'Shea.

The Meath legend gained plenty of column inches last week when he suggested that O'Shea would be better off concentrating on football, rather than posing for selfies after games. 

"Ah Bernard Flynn, I have to say, he made an absolute tit of himself," the former Mayo manager remarked on Newstalk yesterday.

"I don't think there is any other way to say it. I don't know what it is, but the big guy who stands out a bit...maybe it is other people's insecurity, they feel they have to knock him down to make themselves feel better. It's bizarre.

"The level of flak Aidan O'Shea takes...I was with him for four years. The effort, work, and commitment he puts in to be in the shape he is in, to play football for Mayo, is phenomenal. I remember, we played a game out in Gaelic Park against New York, and I had him captain that day. How he conducted himself, and how he represented the GAA to the community out in New York was absolutely phenomenal. With the young players. A lot of us had togged in, and we were ready to go [home] but Aidan was still out there with those young lads.

"Deep down, behind it all, I think Bernard Flynn knows he made a fool of himself. But people need to take stock. Things can run out of control, and I think the Aidan O'Shea thing has. If someone is confident and has something to say, it should be respected, and not be knocked down for being who he is."

In today's Irish Daily Star, Horan also took issue with former Dublin backroom team member Fergus Connolly's belief that Mayo would never win an All-Ireland as long as he's alive.

"Connolly declared that Mayo will never win an All-Ireland in his lifetime because things like O'Shea going on 'The Toughest Trade' TV programme shows their attitude is wrong," he wrote.

"Utter nonsense. I can't believe a top top performance analyst would come out with that."

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