Charlie Oatway says he is 'hurt' by Niall Quinn's claim that he was unsure Gus Poyet had the stomach for a relegation battle Niall Quinn, the former Sunderland striker and chairman, has been on the receiving end of a verbal attack from Charlie Oatway, Gus Poyet's assistant manager. Quinn, one of Sunderland's most popular figures, was labelled "disgusting" and two-faced for questioning whether Poyet had the stomach for a relegation fight in his role as a pundit for Sky Sports. Sunderland pulled off a remarkable escape from relegation last week, winning four and drawing one of their last five matches to make sure of safety with a game to spare. Oatway, who was covering for Poyet at his final pre-match press conference of the season, took the opportunity to settle an old score with Quinn, who he accused of disrespecting Poyet by claiming the Uruguayan had given up on trying to keep Sunderland up. "I don't know whether to agree with Niall Quinn, it depends on what day it is and how he's feeling about us," Oatway said. "One minute, Gus is waving the white flag, and the next minute he's the best thing since sliced bread. "Then, the next minute, he's patting everyone on the back barring Gus so I don't want to talk about Niall Quinn and you can print that. "To be honest I don't even know if Gus has read what he said about him, but I have. "It hurt me because, it's easy when you've got a microphone and the limelight of the TV. "What happens then, you can give people a false impression because you're the one with the mic. You can say all this stuff and it's totally not fair. "We think we roll our sleeves up and work hard and have a go at everything in life. It hurt me listening to a guy saying something like that because I didn't think it was fair. "He changed like the wind, one minute he was like our best ally, and the next it was like we're waving the white flag. "That was a disgusting thing to say for me. It's a terrible thing to say. What does that say to 46,000 fans who are coming to our game, because they hold him in high regard and respect him. "They're going to listen to that and think it's the truth. It's not. I think that side of things is very sad. It's an unbelievable achievement to have stayed up and I know what Gus's work ethic has been every single day."
I don`t see how Quinny can say Gus didn`t have the stomach for a relegation fight when that`s exactly what he bought into? Bit weird that.
Quinny is a legend but he's also the past. Gus is the future. There's only one side to pick. Sunderland.
wish they could keep the spat private, no need to go all handbags in the newspapers. Oatway, pick up the ****ing phone and tell Quinn that you didnt appreciate it dont ****ing blab on in the papers - doesnt do us any good at all
If Quinn can say his piece in public I think the response should be public. It`s only fair and it`s fairness Oatway was on about. That`s it now though. Let it drop.
Wont be the end of it now though will it ? Journo's will ask Quinn about it, he'll give an answer, someone wont be happy with it, theyll make a comment..... Quinn is paid to make comments in public, Oatway isnt. should have sorted it out privately then made a public comment about it. or ignored it, Poyet's achievement speaks for itself in the end.
Aye. The journo`s will probably try to drag it out. Make it more than it is. Still think it was a daft thing for Quinn to say though.
It's really not like SNQ at all though. He's known for his loyalty, to teams, to causes. To me, there must be something else going, that hasn't been made public yet that. I'm not a conspiracist at al but I'm sure there's something else going on here.
The Poyet to WHU rumour gather pace and credibility you just wonder if Poyet is looking for an exit strategy, perhaps Quinn upping the stakes, maybe the fight Quinn is referring to is the big picture rather than just this seasons relegation battle?
That might make bit more sense, Quinny can`t mean this season surely? Gus joined us in a relegation battle. He jumped right into the middle of it. Poyet has an exit clause hasn`t he? If that`s the case he doesn`t need a strategy. I reckon it might be something much simpler. Quinn made what Oatway sees as an unfair criticism and has jumped to his defence. That`s all.
Niall Quinn was speaking after Poyet's press conference following the 5-1 tonking at Spurs. Poyet did give the impression that all was not well at the SoL, and Quinny will have drawn the same conclusion and dare I say that a few of us SAFC fans did. Poyet said he didn't know what to do next and we needed a miracle. Was he ready to throw in the towel? Oatway is only making his comments now, after the revival, whilst Quinny spoke up at the same time Poyet was having the confidence wobble. We all know what Quinny thinks of the club, and he wouldn't deliberately undermine the manager.
Good man. Hadn`t realised the time span. Makes a world of difference. Changed my mind. In that case Oatway should have kept his gob shut.
Lets hope Gus stays as long as SNQ and has a similar effect, ie. making himself a legend, also we need a new stand in for press conferences.
A few tried to start a - Oatway! Shut ya mouth! Oatway oatway shut ya mouth! Today like The 2 of them didnt get it gannin like
http://www1.skysports.com/football/...g-as-sky-bet-slash-odds-on-gus-poyets-sacking "If you miss out on survival it is such a low, it is such a problem - not just for the football club but in a place like Sunderland it will affect the whole area. "It's disappointing to think about it now but they are where they are; it's a real problem. They've had many chances to do something about it and they just haven't played their way out of it. "I feel sorry for Gus Poyet; I think he has brought something fresh to it. He is a good, honest man; he's got ambition and he's walked into a situation there where I feel it was a step too far. "It looked an impossible task when he came in but he did so well he probably gave people hope up there and after the Cup runs finished and after the Lord Mayor's Show, the players were found wanting in the meantime." I've searched and searched, this has to be the comment, following the Everton game.
It's clearly been written by a junior journo who didn't have time to do his homework and he's clearly making a punt!
