MAYO BOSS JAMES Horan has described the eight-week lay off since their league final defeat to Cork on April 29th as ‘boring’ but he is hopeful they will show no signs of rustiness when making their 2012 championship bow against Leitrim next Sunday.
The quirks of the structure have ensured that Mayo are the last side to debut in this year’s championship and despite being strong favourites to triumph in this Connacht semi-final tie in Castlebar, Horan is wary of the challenge posed by their opponents.
“If the past few weeks has told us anything, it is if you are a little off and your focus is not where it could be, you are in danger. Teams are all very well prepared now and have a very good level of fitness and if you let them play their game, then you could be in real bother. You have Clare in the Munster final and teams are very competitive no matter what division they are in.
We reviewed the league and looked at areas we could improve on. We set about that for the seven or eight weeks and the guys had a lot of club football in that time as well so that provided a nice break for them. It has been boring, but hopefully we have used it well.
“It would have been nice to win the league but we definitely improved and developed a level of consistency which would have to give us more confidence as a team. We are definitely more of a team as we have been together for longer. We have been working constantly on our skill-set, our movement. We will be absolutely focussed to make sure that all the training we have done comes out in the performance.”
Mayo’s prospects have been boosted by the manner in which their squad has been strengthened in the interim. The long-serving Ballina Stephenites player Ronan McGarrity has rejoined the squad while Aidan O’Shea is also back in the frame, albeit a lack of game time since his last inter-county appearance on April 8th is likely to count against his aspirations of featuring.
“Aidan O’Shea is recovering well but has been out for a long time,” admitted Horan. “He is working hard on his rehab with the medical team. We are just taking it on a day-by-day basis so I could not even put a percentage on his chances.
“Ronan when he is fit and on form he is as good as any in the country so we will evaluate him and see how it goes. I have always said that if someone is playing well at club level and I feel that they can do a job for us in Mayo, they will be given an opportunity.
“So that is what we did with Ronan, the panel is still open-ended and if guys are showing form they will be given a chance. You have to have a strong panel. If you listen to Pat Gilroy over the last few years, that is what he credits to their success. We need fellas in the run-up when places are still up for grabs to put their hands up.”
“If you take the league final, which was the last competitive game we played, we didn’t win enough primary possession there and we did not win enough breaking ball so you could say that midfield was an area we could improve. We have two players vying for every position including the middle of the field so we will see who takes them.”
