In the latest twist in the Sligo Rovers-Owen Heary saga, the Bit O'Red released a statement on Friday evening officially confirming that the Dubliner had “stepped down” as manager – only for Heary to refute that live on Setanta Sports by responding: “I never stepped down. They sacked me.”
The 38 year old last took charge of Sligo in the 5-1 defeat to Shamrock Rovers at the Tallaght Stadium on June 5th. Throughout the week following that game, speculation surfaced that Heary had been removed from the Showgrounds hotseat and then later reinstated, with the club neither confirming nor denying the rumours.
Coaches Gavin Dykes and Joseph N'do took charge of the Bit O'Red for their next match, the 2-1 home defeat to Dundalk on June 12th. No official update on the situation came from either Sligo or Heary during the mid-season break which followed.
However, with the SSE Airtricty League returning to action on June 26th following its brief intermission, Heary appeared as a pundit on Setanta Sports' coverage of the Premier Division clash between St. Patrick's Athletic and Longford Town. When asked by presenter Des Curran where things stood between himself and the club at this point, Heary told Setanta Sports:
“What happened was, after the Shamrock Rovers game, on the Sunday I got a phone call from the [Sligo] chairman [Joe Burns] to say that I was no longer needed at the club, which was grand. And the following day the players were told I wasn't there and I got asked to put back the keys.
“And then on the Tuesday, I got a phone call to say I was reinstated. So it's a bit in limbo at the moment but hopefully it will be sorted out soon.”
Continue reading Owen Heary's reaction to news of Sligo Rovers' bizarrely timed statement on Extratime.ie.
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