GAA legend warns Mayo ‘have to earn the right to challenge for All-Ireland' after joining Andy Moran's backroom team

The Irish Sun

9 hours ago

Mayo failed to get past the group stage of this year's All-Ireland series
BOYLE-ING POINT GAA legend warns Mayo 'have to earn the right to challenge for All-Ireland' after joining Andy Moran's backroom team
MAYO legend Colm Boyle believes the Westerners 'have to earn the right' to be seen as All-Ireland contenders again.
The four-time All-Star has joined new manager Andy Moran's backroom team as a coach/selector and is focusing on 'finding the inches' that can make Mayo great again.
2
Colm Boyle, left, has joined Andy Moran coaching ticket at Mayo
Credit: Ray Ryan / SPORTSFILE
2
He said Mayo have to earn the right to be All-Ireland contenders
Credit: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
Advertisement
Former wing-back Boyle declared: 'If you look at where Mayo have been over the last four years, we haven't earned the right to be talking about All-Irelands. So that's the first thing we have to go after.
'I think you have to earn the right to be in the All-Ireland conversation. That's why we're going after all the inches we can find as a management team and with the playing group.
'Hopefully that continues on into pre-season and into next year.
'Then it's about translating that into performances on the pitch and seeing where that takes us. Maybe we can come back here next year, see where we are and have a different conversation.'
Advertisement
Under Kevin McStay, and then Stephen Rochford when McStay had to step away for health reasons, Mayo failed to get past the group stage of this year's All-Ireland series. A last-gasp defeat to Donegal denied them knockout football.
The last of their All-Ireland final appearances came in 2021 when they were beaten by Tyrone and their most recent quarter-final outing was in 2023.
Boyle, who hung up his inter-county boots in the wake of that 2021 decider, added: 'Mayo haven't played in enough big games over the last few years, they haven't got to the latter stages of the Championship.
'As a supporter, I've missed that. I'm sure the playing group have missed that.
Advertisement
'So the opportunity to help try and get Mayo back playing big games again, to see where you can add to the set-up, that's a huge challenge.'
Boyle, 39, is still lining out with Davitts in the Mayo club championship, so will be in an ideal position to scout for new talent over the coming weeks. And as a former team-mate of the new Mayo boss, he admitted it was 'impossible' to say no to Moran when the call came to link up.
Inside Sharlene Mawdsley's 'delicious' yet atypical Tenerife holiday with GAA star boyfriend Mikey Breen
He said: 'It's an absolute privilege to be asked to get involved in a Mayo management team.
'So when I looked at it, I knew it was an opportunity that I absolutely had to grasp.
'Would this opportunity come up again? I don't know.
Advertisement
'Personally, I also want to see what I can bring to it and see where we can drive it on into 2026 and beyond.
'This is about more than Andy Moran or Colm Boyle. This is about Mayo football for years to come.
'Being back in a high-performance unit is a huge part of it for me, the chance to be involved again in a team at the very highest level.'
Meanwhile, Moran wants to see the return of the GAA's pre-season competitions, which were scrapped last year after a Central Council vote.
The new boss, who coached with Monaghan last year, said: 'It doesn't make any sense. One of my biggest regrets going up north was that there was no McKenna Cup. I would have loved to have experienced it.
Advertisement
'We were running around playing Fermanagh, opening pitches, doing everything just to try to get games.
'For me, it is a no-brainer. I can't see the logic behind pulling the FBD League. Boys are playing Sigerson anyway.
'Maybe you put in a rule that they can't play both or something like that. That's fine.'