Rochford sticks with experience but picks a six-strong development panel

MAYO senior football manager Stephen Rochford and his selectors have opted to keep faith with their tried and trusted squad members for the 2017 championship campaign, The Connaught Telegraph can confirm.

In the last number of days, this newspaper named the 30 players likely to feature on the panel.

Since then, the 30 players named by us have been told of their involvement while one other player, Belmullet's Eoin O'Donoghue, has been added.

After questioned the fact that few players from the 2013 minor winning team or and the All-Ireland Under 21 winning team of last year, were going to be brought in to the senior set up, I am glad to learn that a six-strong development has been put in place by Rochford.

This panel will train with the senior panel during the week. Although the six players will not be on Mayo's official panel list for the championship, they still can be brought in at any given time during the championship season.

However, if any one of the six is brought in and makes the match-day 26 squad on two occasions, one of the existing panel members will have to be dropped.

The following are five of the six players who are going to be on this development panel, Matthew Ruane, James Carr, Seamus Cunniffe, Adam Gallagher and Brian Reape. The sixth will be announced in the near future.