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James Horan with the Mayo players in the All-Ireland semi-final replay. Cathal Noonan/INPHO
Having Your Back

'I can't understand how they didn't stand up for the team' - James Horan on Mayo county board

The ex-Mayo boss isn’t happy that the Gaelic Grounds was chosen to host the replay.

JAMES HORAN HAS criticized the Mayo county board for not supporting his players during the debate over the venue for last month’s All-Ireland semi-final replay.

In an interview today with local Mayo newspaper The Western People, Horan has revealed how he could not understand why the board did not back them as Mayo protested over the choice of the Gaelic Grounds as the venue for the game.

“I couldn’t believe it at first. Croke Park is the place where everyone wants to play – it’s the place where the big games should be played and suddenly we were packed off to Limerick.

“Kerry had played there regularly and were well used to the place and we, rightly, questioned why it hadn’t been scheduled for Thurles or another venue if it had to be taken out of Croke Park.

“But the most unbelievable part of the whole matter was the fact that our own county board didn’t come out and say something when the President of the GAA told Mayo to stop complaining and concentrate on the game if they knew what was good for them.

“I can’t understand how they didn’t stand up for the team at that stage. They should have, but there was no comment whatsoever and that was very disappointing.”

All Flash

Horan brought his tenure in charge to a close after that game. He steered Mayo to fourth consecutive Connacht titles but All-Ireland glory eluded him.

Yet Horan believes that they have changed the image of Mayo footballers as ‘all flash and no substance’.

“At my first press-conference in 2010 I said we’d be consistently competitive and we’d always look to improve every single time we played. I also said we’d take the bullshit out of Mayo football and I think we’ve been very successful on all fronts. We obviously didn’t win the All-Ireland but it’s only a matter of time based on where things are now.

“If you think back about Mayo football for many reasons we were seen as guys with white boots and bleached hair – all flash and no substance, whether that was true or not. What we see now are guys with huge honesty and integrity and no little skill. It was crucial that we changed that in the psyche and I think we did that.”

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