The more games the better for Brendan

THE back-door route to the All-Ireland final is tough enough in normal circumstances, but throw in a couple of replays along the way and you're left with a summer full of football and precious little time for recovery.

That, however, doesn't faze All-Star defender Brendan Harrison. “Actually I like it,” he said. “I suppose next year it'll be a bit like that anyway with the Super 8s. It's tough going when you've five weeks between matches and you're just training. It's nice to get out and get playing football.”

Hard to argue with the Aghamore man there. There would be little point in putting in all those hours of gym work and recovery sessions and meal plans, not to mention training, if there wasn't some football at the end of it.

That's not to say that the scenic route is the favoured one for Brendan and his team-mates. Losing a Connaught championship match is never nice, but to go out to Galway at the semi-final stage for the second year running is particularly hard to swallow. “Obviously it was disappointing to lose to them because you go in to win those games,” Brendan observed.

“It was hugely disappointing, but once the game is over you can look at what you did wrong and what you can improve on. It's behind you then and you go looking forward to the next game, maybe with a different approach.”

Brendan references the Cork game as being more attritional than any other in this year's back-door run. “It was a really hot day and Cork are a strong, physical side,” he explained. “That definitely sapped a lot of energy. Then we had to go into extra time; you had to go again. But we recovered well after that.”

That led to the drawn game against Connaught champions Roscommon in the All-Ireland quarterfinal. Did the battle against Cork the previous week take its toll on Mayo players in that drawn match? “Possibly it might have been a factor but I don't think it was the only reason. We were a little bit sloppy, a little bit off-focus, maybe. We noticed that ourselves. The second game, we were going into that really focused.”

 

Balancing act

For Brendan – and I'm sure it's the case for all other Mayo players too – there's a balancing act between short- and long-term thinking.

“The bigger picture is that obviously you're aiming to get to an All-Ireland final, ultimately, but it's not part of your daily thoughts. Coming up to the week of your first (qualifier) game it's, 'Right, I have to get over that game', because if you do get caught up in something else, that's it – if you lose that game, you're gone, and you're planning for 2018.”

Last year was Brendan's breakthrough year with Mayo. He played in every league game and performed so well in the championship that it earned him an All-Star. Picking up the award when the football had come to an end was a personal highlight, making up somewhat for the disappointment of losing to Dublin in the All-Ireland final after a replay.

“It was lovely to get one. You're ultimate goal is to get the Celtic Cross (All-Ireland medal) but that didn't happen, so it (All-Star Award) was a lovely prize to get and it was nice to get recognised. But once we went into 2017 we were battling for the jersey again. I had to go out and prove myself again.”

What about this year's All-Ireland final and opponents Dublin, once again? “We'll be ready for them,” promised Brendan. It's just one more game in a hectic year.