When Ireland eventually resume competitive football next September, Eamon Dunphy is unlikely to have warmed in his feelings toward Martin O'Neill.
Taking turns between himself and John Giles at demonstrating O'Neill's unsuitability for the role he holds after having his head turned by Stoke City, Dunphy believes that what Ireland have allowed to happen to them, "no other country would allow."
Speaking on 2FM's Game On, Dunphy outlined his issues with the seemingly recalcitrant O'Neill and his employer, the FAI:
What did we learn that's new? We didn't know that Martin O'Neill had a clause in his contract that allowed him to go to a Premier League club of one approached him.
No other country would allow that situation to drag on for three months with an unsigned contract on the table with the manager and his assistant reportedly having discussions with Stoke and also reportedly having some sort of discussion with Everton who were also looking for a manager in that period.
Having previously stated that O'Neill and the association had shown a tremendous lack of respect for Irish football fans with their behaviour, the Derryman's recent treatment of Dunphy's RTÉ colleague Tony O'Donoghue did not sit well with the analyst either:
It's not the first time we've seen him let himself down in that way. I found that offensive, disrespectful of the press and the role they play in representing fans and asking questions they want answered.
If any other international manager and his team were hammered 5-1 at home with a miserable performance, wrong tactics, bad decision making... that there wouldn't be comment on it. That people would turn a blind eye to it.
Why is he getting paid? He gets paid a huge amount of money. Probably in the top three or four in international football. What does he want?
Although things haven't quite yet reaching Trapattoni range in terms of Dunphy's criticism, it would appear that O'Neill is losing many more fans than he is winning at the moment.
In terms of rumours that Ireland could lose West Ham United's Declan Rice, with England's Gareth Southgate keeping a close eye on the exciting Irish underage player, Dunphy believes the O'Neill-contract situation signifies the level of "neglect" that is going on at the top.
