Andy Moran wants 'best players in Mayo' playing for county

RTÉ News​

2 days ago

New Mayo manager Andy Moran says his immediate objective is to get the best players in the county playing for the Green and Red, which he suggests "might not have always been the case" in recent years.
The former Footballer of the Year was ratified as the county's new boss this evening, with former team-mate Colm Boyle and recently departed Derry manager Paddy Tally arriving as part of his ticket.
Moran takes on the role following a turbulent season, in which Mayo failed to progress beyond the group phase, after which Kevin McStay - who took ill in the wake of the group stage defeat to Cavan - and Stephen Rochford were "relieved of their roles" according to a contentiously worded statement.
The eight-time Connacht medallist stressed that one of his priorities was getting Mayo's best players back on the pitch - notably Cillian O'Connor and Padraig O'Hora, who opted out ahead of the 2025 campaign.
"The key thing is to get the best players in Mayo playing for Mayo," Moran told RTÉ Gaelic Games correspondent Marty Morrissey.
"Which, quite unusually over the last couple of years, mightn't have always been the case. We need to get the best players playing.
"In terms of young talent, there's a crop of Under-20s there that just missed out narrowly against Louth this year (in the All-Ireland semi-final). There's a crop of minors coming through that are really talented, who lost to Armagh in last year's All-Ireland semi-final.
"There's been a few Connacht titles (at underage) and a few green shoots over the last couple of years, which is great to see. It's about how we keep being competitive with the strong players we have and embedding these young players in amongst it. That's going to be the major role for the management team over the next couple of years."
While Mayo remain in Division 1 and reached a league final in 2025, they have failed to get past the All-Ireland quarter-final stage in the past four seasons as Galway have hogged the Nestor Cup.
One perceived weakness in 2025 was a difficulty in racking up scores - especially two-pointers - under the new rules. Adapting better to the new rules will be a focus for the year ahead, says Moran.
"We're back to the basics. As we know, Galway have won four Connacht titles in a row. Before we even get to talking about All-Irelands and '51 and all this stuff, the big thing is we need to get back to work. Get back to basics. We need to build on some of the good work that Kevin (McStay) and Stephen (Rochford) have done last year. And we need to get better at every aspect we're chasing.
"Where can we get better? I think the new rules are great to coach. The lads on the FRC don't need any more plaudits. They're probably embarrassed by the plaudits they're getting at this stage. But we can see it's a way better game. It's a way better product.
"From a coaching/ management [perspective] it's a way better game to coach. Hopefully, myself, Colm Boyle and Paddy Tally can help out the Mayo players to really exploit the new elements of the new game and get back to being competitive at the latter stages of the championship, if we can."
The Ballaghaderreen man takes on the senior management gig just six years after his inter-county retirement.
In the mean-time, he spent three years as Leitrim manager, guiding them to promotion to Division 3 in his final season in 2024. Last year, he was a high-profile presence in Gabriel Bannigan's management team in Monaghan, the county defying initial gloomy predictions to power back to Division 1 in fine style before reaching an All-Ireland quarter-final in the summer.
While Moran says he "loved" both those roles, his main ambition was always to take on the top job in Mayo.
"I loved both counties. I loved both teams. But at the end of the day, this is where I'm from. This is I suppose where your heart is. Whenever the opportunity comes, you kind of have to jump at it.
"Was it always an aim? Yes, it was always an aim. But do you think about that when you're managing other teams? You don't. You're really stuck in the moment, you're trying to get the best out of them players while you're there. And then some day, if you're deemed good enough and take your home county, that's great.
"I always had great role models growing up in the likes of John O'Mahony and the likes of James Horan coming in in 2011 and John Maughan before him. I've always had my eye set on coaching and managing.
"So, yes, you always think some day you'd love to get a rattle at it. Until that day arrives, I suppose it's a pipe dream. But it's come true today and we're back in the Mayo dressing room, so it's great."