Mayo GAA supporters can expect to see new faces, Horan confirms
JAMES Horan has indicated that he will be assembling a new panel for the 2018 league and championship, while he has made it clear that there are no guarantees that any player would hold his place on the team.
He also said he was not unware of any members of the old panel stepping down.
“There is no Mayo panel at the moment,” he stated during a wide-ranging interview with the local and national media at Lough Lannagh Village. He was very upbeat about finding new talent
“The performances of Diarmuid O’Connor, Eoin O’Donoghue coming through and other young guys coming through offer real hope and there is a lot of guys out there.
“You see some of the teams coming through like Westport, Claremorris, Belmullet, Ballaghaderren and some of the young players in those teams. I could name 12 of them that have a lot of talent and ability.”
He gave a very strong indication that Mayo supporters can expect to see new faces on the Mayo team during 2019 in both league and championship.
“Trials will be held over the October bank holiday weekend and all players will be given at least two games so they can be properly evaluated and he will be personally involved in coaching along with members of the coaching team which includes Daniel Forde, Martin McIntyre and Martin Barrett
“The team and, indeed the management, are a lot older now and some things will be done a little differently,” he said.
This was a clear reference to coaching methods in which he will personally be involved, while three or four other coaches will also be working on smaller goups of players so that the time available can be maximised.
Asked if Mayo were somewhat unlucky not to have won at least one or two Connaught titles in the past four years, he felt the team had not performed well enough and some league defeats overshdowed their displays in the championship.
“I don’t think they were unlucky, I think the performances weren’t good enough, particularly in Castlebar. They just weren’t at the level that I think that team can play at for whatever the reason. You don’t know when your not involved.
"There could have been injuries to key players, you really don’t know. A couple of sendings off, the discipline in big moments probably cost us games, so there is a few things to look at.
“But Galway are a strong team as well no question about that, it is disappointing not be competing for Connaught finals every year from a Mayo point of view.”
Read his full interview in next week's print edition of The Connaught Telegraph.