Peter Canavan lauds Mayo's reinvention of Conor Loftus
John Melvin
Former Tyrone senior football star Peter Canavan has lauded Mayo manager Kevin McStay for the reinvention of Conor Loftus as an attacker-turned-defender.
In his short duration as Mayo manager McStay has already made his mark, not just by trying out new talent but trying players in different roles.
Loftus was a very talented underage player but didn't quite reach his potential as senior player under both James Horan and Stephen Rochford, where he played mostly in the attack and occasionally at midfield, but now seems to finding his niche in defence.
He has grown into his new role as a centre-back with serious potential, Canavan noting his performance and significant contribution to Mayo’s victory over Kerry on Saturday night last at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park, Castlebar.
Speaking to Evanne Ní Chuilin on RTE’S Sunday Game, Canavan said Loftus excelled in his role as a sweeper and also came forward on a umber of occasions.
“He may not have scored but he was very involved in a number of very positive Mayo attacks and I think we will be seeing a lot more of Loftus, who has been improving with every outing since McStay took over,” said Canavan.
He added: “What I like about him is that he follows his run and while he may not be given the ball back, he is taking his marker with him. McStay has given him a huge vote of confidence.”
Former Dublin footballer Kieran Whelan was very impressed with Mayo’s work rate against Kerry, particularly their ability to play a high press game but also fall back when they lose possession.
He also highlighted the defensive set-up which Kerry found very hard to break down, Mayo covering and tackling in numbers.
He went as far as to say there was an element of Stephen Rochford’s tactics with Corofin in some of their play.
“I think there is bit of Stephen Rochford’s work with Corofin to bee in some of Mayo’s tactics, particularly with those long passes into the attack,” said Whelan, who picked out one or two passes from Aidan O’Shea, particularly that subline 40-metre delivery into the hands of Ryan O’Donoghue which yielded a point.
Whelan continued: “There is definitely a pattern beginning to emerge under Kevin McStay and I think the likes of Jordan Flynn and James Carr, and indeed many others, are beginning to show their quality as they picked off some excellent points, and Carr nailed another fine goal.”
However, Whelan said Mayo will not be losing the run of themselves as they are head of Kerry in terms of pre-season levels of fitness.
“I’m not so sure McStay will be targeting the league as I do believe they have their sights set on matters further down the road, but they can take so many positives from this game,” he said.
Added Whelan: “The intensity and work rate Mayo brought to their game was incredible. Kerry just couldn’t match that and that could be the kick in the backside that Kerry needed.”