Mayo GAA not ruling out a Holmes/Connelly return

by Aiden Henry

The chairman of Mayo GAA has not ruled out the prospect of a return to the county's senior football team management role by Pat Holmes and Noel Connelly.

They duo stepped down as joint managers of the squad in October 2015 after being forced to bow to player power.

While a long list of candidates have been linked with the vacancy since James Horan's stepped down, the most interesting and surprising whispers is that the Mayo County Board might be willing to admit it was a mistake not to support Holmes and Connelly seven years ago after the senior team squad issued an ultimatum that they wanted them out.

When asked if there was anything to the speculation, the chairman of the county board, Seamus Tuohy, said: "I do acknowledge that what was done to Holmes and Connelly was very wrong.

"However, the work to get a new senior manager won’t begin until after the All-Ireland minor final on Friday.

"But we do have a strict process for selecting the manager and it will be adhered too. It will be the same as the one we did to select the present minor manager," said Tuohy.

As the old saying goes, there is never smoke without fire but it remains unclear if Holmes and Connelly would be interested.

The achievements of Holmes and Connelly, both as players and managers, are impressive, and their combination has been a winning one, but it remains to be seen if the county board is willing to go back to them.

Those considered to be leading contenders for the role are John Maughan, Kevin McStay, Jim McGuinness, Maurice Sheridan, Ray Dempsey, Malachy O’Rourke, Ciaran McDonald, Mike Solan, Stephen Rochford and present Mayo minor manager, Sean Deane.

I suspect those leading the appointment process will seriously look at former manager John Maughan, current boss of Offaly.

He has proven that he has all the credentials for the job. The word doing the rounds is that if he did get the job, there is a likelihood that Ciaran McDonald would be on his team.

I feel McDonald has a lot more to give and would be given plenty of scope by Maughan to deliver his expertise.

But, again, it remains to be seen if the county board will approach Maughan.

Others believed to be in the running include Eamonn Fitzmaurice, Liam McHale, Kevin Johnson, Tony McEntee, Kieran Donaghy and Colm Boyle.