3 days ago
The door is open for players to return to the panel says newly appointed Mayo manager Andy Moran
He said he was hopeful that Cillian O'Connor would return to the panel and said that one player may retire to go travelling.
Moran said that he had already spoken to a number of players and was trying to help players get jobs closer to Mayo to help them commit to playing for the county.
Moran has been ratified for a three-year term.
The former Mayo senior footballer and 2017 Footballer of the Year was ratified by delegates at tonight's county board meeting in Hastings Insurance MacHale Park in Castlebar.
Colm Boyle (39), four-time All-Star and former teammate of Moran's, will act as coach while former Derry manager Paddy Tally will be head coach.
When asked why he applied for the Mayo job, Moran said: 'Why not now? This is 24/7. We were with Leitrim for three years, and Monaghan for the last 12 months, it's not a 40-hour a week job, it's a 60-hour a week job. You are up at six o'clock in the morning, it's the last thing you do before you go to bed, you're putting your kids to bed and you're going back on the laptop looking at Huddle. Then for Monaghan it was 20 hours a week travelling on top of that. It's not a normal job.
'I'm 41 years of age. I've a family, a good age, a very supportive wife, you are getting into your 50s, you are getting into your 60s, it's a hard job to do, so do it when you're young, do it when you've energy, do it when you're fresh, why not?
Moran said that he would like to see Mayo adapt their style of play to the new rules, saying that Paddy Tally was 'very much on the same wavelength' as him regarding how they wanted to play the game.
'Anyone that's watched Leitrim or Monaghan or anything over the last couple of years, I think you'll be able to see the style that we want to play without giving too much away,' said Moran.
'I think every team has their own personality. You see in Jim McGuinness's book, he explains why they hand pass the ball so much, because of the win. We run the ball, flying wing-backs. Some of our best players ever came from the back line, Keith Higgins, Colm Boyle, Noel Connelly, James Nallen. We have a style of football that we play and the key for me and Colm and Paddy is that we maximise that style of football.'
Moran said that a number of positions on his backroom team still need to be filled.
Dr Seán Moffatt (doctor) and Martin McIntyre (physio) will remain on while Conor Finn will stay on as head of strength and conditioning.
Moran would like to place greater focus on strength and conditioning across all Mayo intercounty teams.
Colm Boyle said that being asked to join the Mayo senior team as a coach was 'a no-brainer.
The Davitts clubman retired from intercounty football in 2021 and has coached with the Mayo Minor football team and managed the U-19 development team.
'I'm just excited to work with the group, excited to work with Andy and Paddy and the Mayo senior football team again and see what we can do.
Moran's appointment was universally welcomed by delegates who spoke at the meeting, with a number who praised his commitment as a player.
Moran, who is 41 years old, made 153 appearances for the Mayo seniors between 2003 and 2019 and scored 22-226.
The Ballaghaderreen man managed the Leitrim senior footballers for three seasons between 2022 and 2024. He also took charge of the county's U-20 footballers during that period.
He spent the 2025 season coaching the Monaghan senior team under Gabriel Bannigan as the Ulster men won the Division 1 league title and reached the All-Ireland quarter final.
A review will take place at the end of each season of his term as Mayo senior football team manager.
He was proposed for the role of Mayo senior team manager at tonight's Mayo GAA county board meeting by Mayo GAA Secretary Ronan Kirrane, who chaired the county board meeting in the absence of Mayo GAA Chairman Séamus Tuohy and Mayo GAA Vice-Chairman Michael Diskin. Tuohy was absent through illness while Diskin is currently out of the country.
Moran was seconded for the position by Ballaghaderreen GAA delegate, John Kilgallon.
Kirrane said that 'several' candidates had applied for the job before Mayo GAA's An Coiste Bainistí chose Moran as their preferred candidate last Monday night.
The Davitts clubman chaired the county board meeting in the absence of Mayo GAA Chairman Séamus Tuohy and Mayo GAA Vice-Chairman Michael Diskin.'
