Mayo GAA structures and facilities slammed by former manager after Cavan loss
James Horan has lamented the structures in Mayo football after their senior side fell to a three-point defeat against Cavan.
The side now face an uphill battle to escape Group 1 of the All-Ireland series, having to get results against Tyrone and Donegal to have any hope of progression.
Horan agreed that Cavan were the better team, and argued that the team will be down in the dumps after the loss.
Speaking on the Irish Examiner's Gaelic football podcast, he said: 'Cavan were really good. Full of energy. Full of enthusiasm. Full of innovation.
"Mayo were the opposite, unfortunately, today. A well-deserved, well-earned Cavan victory that puts Mayo in a really tight spot.
'That is a hard hit today. You can imagine the jungle drums down these parts as we speak. You can imagine the noise that is going on."
He agreed that the pressure on Mayo boss Kevin McStay, alongside his players, will start to mount.
He added: 'After today's performance, Kevin McStay will get a lot of heat. Players will get a lot of heat. All that will happen and that is par for the course."
Speaking on the facilities in the county, he said that there is plenty of work to be done to get the county up to date with other counties of the same level. Mayo GAA do not currently have a centre of excellence despite a plan being put in place to develop one.
"We talked about Louth last weekend and where they are going - the structures in place, the centre of excellence, the stadium they are building, the coaching in place, the vision and map of where Louth are trying to go. Mayo do not have that.
'My last two years with Mayo we couldn't train on the back pitch in MacHale Park. I was scrambling and scraping off clubs to try to get venues to train.
"I know the U20s are the same thing this year, in multiple club venues trying to get pitches. Can't train on the main pitch and the back pitch in MacHale Park, you probably know it, it is used by a lot of different teams.
'We haven't built structures or laid down foundations like we should have over the last decade. We are behind so many other counties, what they have done and how they have progressed. Their structures, their coaching, their pitches, their academies, I think that is where so much needs to be looked at.
"How many counties have CEOs or performance directors? Mayo, in terms of GAA, is a big brand. It's a big business. We just don't have the structures to support it."
Mayo look set to be the shock of the championship so far, and with the state of their facilities, it has been a while coming.
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