'We know what we're doing': Rory McIlroy hits out at critics of caddie Harry Diamond as short-term fix has proven lasting solution

And everyone's favourite Superintendent, Line of Duty’s Ted Hastings, would no doubt add 'so houl yer wheesht'.

McIlroy and Diamond, lifelong buddies, have been working together on a professional basis since the summer of 2017, when the former world number one's long-term bagman JP Fitzgerald was given the old heave-ho.

Fitzergald was employed for all four of McIlroy's major successes so far, but it's worth pointing out that he didn't exactly earn universal approval from the Holywood star's legion of supporters.

And neither has Diamond.

It's little over a month since McIlroy dropped to 15th in the world, his lowest ranking since 2009, after an 18 month winless run.

During that period, the caddie picked up plenty of the flak from fans, but that was counteracted by McIlroy himself after that long wait was brought to an abrupt halt with victory at the Wells Fargo Championship.

McIlroy ended up winning by a shot from Abraham Ancer after avoiding an almost catastrophic 72nd hole. Hooking a drive left, the ball ended up teetering on the edge of a creek. The player himself was keen to have a whack at it but Diamond insisted a penalty drop was taken; after all, a bogey was all that was required for victory.

In the end, the bagman won the discussion and McIlroy won the event.

"I wanted to make a point of Harry was 100 per cent the person that told me not to hit that ball on 18 in the creek, and if it wasn’t for him, I probably would have lost the tournament because I’d still probably be trying to hack it out of there," McIlroy has told  Golf Magic , emphasising the praise he heaped on his caddie at the time.

"I’m like a dog, if I see a golf ball I want to hit it. It’s there. Or if someone puts a football in front of me I want to kick it. I saw the ball, I wanted to hit it.

"He’s like, let’s just think about this. That was the reason I wanted to single it out, because he kept a cool head when maybe I wasn’t in the best place. And yeah, because of that unfair criticism that I think he’s got over the last couple years, I wanted to just make a point of we know what we’re doing out there."

And that's part of his overall message to the critics.

While some quarters would have you believe another change on the bag is required for McIlroy to get back on top, the man himself would indicate he has already found his lasting solution.

"This was supposed to be a short-term thing back in 2017, and I ended up really enjoying it, really liking it. We made the decision that this was going to be a long-term thing, and it’s worked out great. We’ve had six wins together," said McIlroy - not even mentioning that those include The Tour Championship, The Players Championship and a World Golf Championship event.

"I think the reason I wanted to single Harry out, as well, I feel like he gets some negativity around the relationship that’s very unfair, uncalled for. People don’t know him, don’t really know me. They sort of see things from the outside and from their own perspective, but they don’t really know."

So maybe, reading between the lines, the overall takeaway is that McIlroy would like those critics to kindly 'houl yer wheesht'.