ANDY MCENTEE hailed his players for winning their fight to play Armagh at Corrigan Park.
The furious Saffrons threatened to boycott their Ulster SFC quarter-final clash when their Belfast home was deemed unsuitable for the tie.
Andy McEntee’s side were handed a home draw last October for their clash with the All-Ireland champions, which is booked for a 7pm throw-in on Saturday, April 12.
A standoff ensued when provincial council chiefs fixed the game for Páirc Esler in Newry, and Antrim insisted they would not give up home advantage.
Ulster deemed that Corrigan Park – which hold just under 4,000 punters – was not up to scratch to host the Orchard, who have 3,000 season ticket holders alone.
Antrim doubled down and said they would only show up at their Belfast home, and were widely backed by their county board and the GPA.
But the fiasco was resolved last night as Antrim got their way, and relieved boss McEntee hailed his players’ stance to secure home advantage.
He insists they would not have turned up in Newry if Ulster refused to budge – which would have meant no championship football until the Tailteann Cup group stages begin on May 10.
He said: “No, that was never going to happen. I agreed with the stance that they took and once you make that stance, you’ve got to stick with it, regardless of the consequences.
“And there were potential serious consequences, I mean, not alone in the Ulster Championship, but from what I’m led to believe, maybe Tailteann Cup as well.
“So, that would have been a big setback for this group. But they were prepared to take that on the chin because they felt they had right on their side.
“I do think they had right on their side. It’s important for everybody. I mean, it’s important that the players have made a stance.
“They’ve made it very clear, I think they’ve done the right thing. The county board have backed them, which was important too and I’m glad for both of them.
“And Ulster Council in all fairness to them have seen and probably gauged the room and they’ve come up with what I think is the right decision.
“A decision has been made and it’s nice to have clarity and let’s move on and get ready for the game.”
But the saga has been a distraction during Antrim’s league campaign, which saw them relegated from Division 3.
Their 1-26 to 1-15 loss to Kildare on Sunday sealed their fate, and McEntee admits the stand-off dominated affairs for management and players alike.
He hopes it can motivate his men for all the right reasons when Kieran McGeeney’s men come to town next month – but fears it could fire up Armagh even more too.
He said: “Yeah, probably too much time to tell you the truth. You get to a stage where you’re saying, ‘look, nothing has changed, we just move on.’ It is, it’s never helpful, but it is what it is.
“We still had games to prepare for so you just put your head down and try and ignore the noise outside.
“If you’re not motivated to play the All-Ireland Champions in your own backyard, well, then there’s something wrong.
“So, there’s no need for any extra motivation. If anything, it might give Armagh a bit of extra motivation.
“But, no, I mean, we have all the motivation we need and it’s an opportunity and it’s an honour to be playing the All-Ireland Champions, as I say, in your own backyard, and it’s something that the vast majority.
“I don’t think any of our players have had that opportunity before.”
