LAST UPDATE | 12 Dec 2022
STEPHEN ROCHFORD HOPES Lee Keegan will be involved with Mayo in 2023, with the management team due to talk to the experienced defender in the coming weeks.
The Green and Red will already begin life under Kevin McStay without Oisin Mullin who recently joined AFL club Geelong, a decision assistant manager Rochford expressed surprise at.
Uncertainty reigns over the inter-county future of five-time All-Star Keegan, the 33-year-old recently helping Westport to senior championship glory. On The Inside Line podcast with Alan Brogan last month, he said he would weigh up his options and come to a decision in a ‘couple of weeks’.
Speaking as an ambassador for this year’s AIB Goal Mile, Rochford confirmed today that the situation remains the same.
“Lee hasn’t returned yet. Things haven’t changed from what has already been said and what Lee has said himself. We’re more than happy to give Lee that space to allow the mind and body recuperate. He had a bit of an injury playing through the inter-county and club championship, so we’re affording him that bit of downtime.
“We’ll look to talk with Lee closer to Christmas or early in the New Year as regards to his plans for 2023. I really hope that he is part of our squad for the year ahead. He has a lot to offer.”
Mullin is one definite absentee for 2023, the two-time Young Footballer of the Year recently pitching up in Melbourne.
Another star defender for the Green and Red, Mullin signed with Geelong in November 2021, though decided to stay in Ireland and commit to the Mayo cause. Now, he is taking his chances in professional sport with the reigning AFL champions.
“Looking from afar, we probably would have all thought, in a Mayo context, that the Geelong chapter was done and dusted when Oisin signed for them and changed his mind for his own personal reasons,” Rochford explained.
“So it was a bit of a surprise in September, October time that we were made aware that Geelong had made further advances as the year went on. His decision wasn’t kneejerk, he had spent the previous nine months considering that decision.
“Our role really was to ensure that Oisin made a decision that he could be quite comfortable with, that he was well informed with, that he was supported with. Whilst we made it very clear that we wanted Oisin to stay and that we saw him being a really important part of our plan for 2023, we wish him well with his adventures in Geelong.
“But at the same time we remain hopeful that at some stage in the future we will see him back in Mayo. Although that might sound contradictory, it has as much to do with if things don’t work out for Oisin, he knows he’s more than welcome back in Mayo.”
Rochford is back with his native county, whom he managed from 2016 to 2018 and steered to two All-Ireland finals, after a stint with Donegal. The Crossmolina man coached there under Declan Bonner.
There was a managerial vacancy in The Hills after Bonner’s departure, along with several others elsewhere, but ultimately, there was no chance of Rochford taking charge of another county.
“I wasn’t attracted to a manager’s role outside of Mayo. I just think the commitment required for the job is phenomenal. To put on top of that a car journey of three-plus hours, a six-hour round trip, with a young family and not enough flexibility for going and staying away for a period of time…I’d no desire to do it.
“It was never a consideration, for another inter-county [team]. Obviously when the job came up in a Mayo context I gave that some consideration. I spoke to one or two people and then Kevin made an approach and his vision for what that would look like was very attractive. It afforded me the opportunity as assistant manager, along with the other selectors and coaches, to help shape, along with him and the players, the next few years for Mayo.”
Rochford also paid tribute to the recently-retired Michael Murphy, having worked closely with the Donegal legend over the past few years.
“I’m really fortunate to have played with and coached some top, top players. I played with Crossmolina, coached with Corofin, Mayo, Donegal. Somebody asked me was he the greatest player to work with? That’s a dangerous question because you could upset another 10 or 15 players.
“Was he one of the greatest? Absolutely, without doubt. A phenomenal footballer, a true leader, a pleasure to work with, a gentleman. Extremely warm, when I signed up with Donegal he was one of the first phone calls I got. All very respectful, challenging because he’s looking at how does this impact the team and ensuring that everyone was clear. As a leader, one of the top, top guys that I’ve come across. A pleasure and a privilege to have worked with him.”
“[It was] a little bit of surprise, but only a little bit,” he added on Murphy’s decision to call time.
“I think it’s a reflection on Michael as well that he saw new management coming in and them probably wanting to put their stamp on it. Michael has captained the team and been a real fulcrum to that group over the last decade, or more really. He has put his body and head where few people would have put enemies, over that time.
“As regards that mileage that Michael has put his body through over the last few years, it’s not a major surprise. If he felt his body and his hunger to go and do it…and there ain’t nobody in Donegal that would be more behind the new management and making sure that Donegal remain at the top table than Michael Murphy. I think it’s just time.
“I know if I was in Paddy Carr’s shoes, I probably would have been saying, ‘Ah Jaysis, Michael, we’ll get 20 minutes off ya,’ or something like that. But that isn’t what Michael Murphy does. He’s all in. As the saying goes, it’s all duck or no dinner, and again, shows that leadership piece very much to the fore in that.”
