Daryl Horgan reckons the controversy surrounding a motivational video shown to Ireland players was much ado about nothing.
An FAI investigation into claims of 'anti-English' sentiment in clips shown to players before November's friendly against England found no fault with boss Stephen Kenny.
He told Off the Ball: "I don't remember most of it. I remember that there was Ray Houghton's header, there was bits and pieces - nothing major.
"I don't even really remember it - nothing stuck out to me as 'Jesus, this is a bit much' - I didn't think there was anything in it.
"I was very surprised when it came out, that there was a problem. I hadn't really heard anything about it.
"It is very easy for anything to get into the papers. I don't know how or why it got in there. That is the nature of football as it is now."
Damien Duff rocked the Ireland camp when he quit his role as assistant coach last week and did not reveal his reasons for stepping down.
He had been irked by the investigation into a video which he saw no issues with and Horgan also felt it was a 'storm in a teacup'.
The video included clips from historical events such as the 1916 rising and Duff said that he felt these were 'Irish events that you should be proud of'.
Elaborating on the video controversy, Horgan added: "There are lots of different agendas and lots of different things going on. It was a strange time but I was glad that it was parked so quickly.
"In a way, football never ceases to amaze with the kind of stuff that goes on. Storm in a teacup-type things; press for press' sake.
"It was a nice easy one for people who wanted to put the boot into Stephen Kenny because results hadn't been great, and they probably felt that this was another little kick."
Goalkeeping coach Alan Kelly also announced his departure last night, four days after Duff rocked the Ireland camp with his shock announcement.
Kelly suffers from asthma and cited Covid-19 concerns as the reason for his decision to walk away.
The ex-Ireland stopper hit the headlines in November when he strongly denied leaking the videogate story to an English newspaper, stating he was ‘disgusted’ by the suggestion that he had.
“With Covid-19 still viciously circulating in our communities, it is with a heavy heart that I have decided the time is right to step down," Kelly said.
“It has been an absolute honour and a privilege to represent the Republic of Ireland as a player and coach for the last 28 years.
“A special thank you goes out to all the Irish International goalkeepers I have played alongside and had the good fortune to coach.
"I would like to thank the FAI and wish Stephen, the staff and all the players the very best of luck in the World Cup qualifiers and for the future.”
