Jamie Clarke has insisted his Armagh exile has "absolutely nothing to do with Kieran McGeeney being the manager".
The classy 26-year-old Crossmaglen forward will miss the Orchard's campaign this year as he prepares to return to the USA.
Clarke went to New York last summer after his county's All-Ireland qualifier defeat to Galway, and in a statement tweeted out by Armagh GAA, he stressed his decision to miss this year's championship has nothing to do with any problems or fallout with the manager.
"My decision not play for Armagh senior football team this year has absolutely nothing to do with Kieran McGeeney being the manager," the statement read.
"It is no hidden secret that I have other ambitions outside of football resulting in the need to travel and live outside of Ireland.
"This has been the case long before Kieran ever got involved in the the Armagh management setup. I have nothing but respect and appreciation towards Kieran, who has given me so much support and guidance.
"As an Armagh man I fully support all he is trying to achieve with the current group of players."
Joe Brolly was strongly critical of McGeeney's management style on The Sunday Game last week, suggesting that his system was driving away Cross' players who couldn't buy into it.
"Kieran expects absolute allegiance from his players, and he attracts a certain type of player," Brolly said.
“Martin Carney said ‘He’s working with what he has’. Well he’s not working with any of the Crossmaglen boys, one of the top five club teams in Ireland over the last five years, because they won’t play for the team.
“This is one of the big problems with modern football. You have this system where they don’t play club football and huge resources are expended on it.
“He doesn’t have the players who want to play Gaelic football but want to have a life alongside it."
Former Armagh manager Paul Grimley reacted strongly to those comments, labelling Brolly's criticism "poisonous".
“Because of the picture he paints of himself in other areas, he probably thinks he can get away with some of the very poisonous remarks he makes, during and after games about managers and players.
"When he makes remarks about players, managers and county chairmen, calling them spineless and stuff like that, are RTÉ happy enough to let that play out?
"They have to be asked the question: where are their barriers? Where do they draw the line?"
