James “has no intention” of walking away

Willie Joe

Ahead of tomorrow night’s well-trailed meeting between James Horan and County Board officials, Terry Reilly in the Irish Examiner is reporting this morning that James Horan “has no intention” of stepping down from the position. Furthermore, Terry says that while changes to James’ backroom team are expected to be made, with James Nallen’s future involvement a major doubt, it looks as if the bulk of the current team – including key men such as Donie Buckley, Tom Prendergast and Ed Coughlan – have agreed to stay on for the coming year. You’d never know, Santy might even sort them all out with iPads ahead of the FBD.

In other news, this report in the Irish Independent states that Aidan O’Shea is “leaning towards” playing solely for Breaffy this coming weekend. He’s also due to play in the second International Rules test against Australia at Croke Park on Saturday night but quite sensibly it looks as if he’s prepared to give priority to his club’s first ever county final appearance the following afternoon.

95 thoughts on “James “has no intention” of walking away”

  1. Haha like your iPad reference WJ. Well I think it’s brilliant news if he’s staying on, we are so close and have improved every year under Horan, one more big push next season and we will be very close again. Onwards and upwards!

  2. If all thats true WJ, its good news. JH is far from perfect, but he has made unbelievable progress with this panel and if anyone deserves another shot, its man. Good stuff.

    As for Aido – if he only plays for Breaffy this weekend – fair play to him. That’s an admirable thing to do. County finals are special and when they are as rare as hens teeth for most clubs, its quite right that it should get precedence. Maith thú Aido.

  4. Really think Aidan should concentrate on playing and not be telling the media every little thing that is on his mind. When he wins an All ireland or performs in a final then people might be interested in listening.

  6. Just to quash other rumours doing the rounds. Rory Gallagher will return to county management with the Donegal U21?s.

  8. Best of luck to him if true and will be behind him all the way for 14.

    Slightly worried about the win it or fail tag that will be put on this team next year, it will be an enormous weight to carry. And for gawds sake don’t you positive energy type people tell me there won’t, because there is nothing surer . Really difficult for Mayo .

  9. Midwest Radio, quoting the Connacht Telegraph this morning, says that the County Board have informed James Horan that there will absolutely not be €500,000 available next year for training the team, as there was this last year. Surely this means cuts in manpower and facilities available. They didn’t say whether this is a sticking point for James. Dublin, with its huge sponsorship deals, has no worries like this and can afford deluxe preparations.

    MWR also report that Cillian O’Connor expects to be out of action for the next 5 months after his surgery 11 days ago. This would have him back in early April.

  10. Stone Cold Steve Austin says:
    October 22, 2013 at 11:22 am
    Really think Aidan should concentrate on playing and not be telling the media every little thing that is on his mind. When he wins an All ireland or performs in a final then people might be interested in listening.

    +1

    Good Lord, can he just get on with playing football. I admire his time and effort in the field , but enough already with the interviews, tweet, etc.

  11. Be careful lads, I got a summons for saying something similar. At least he has moved from The Star to The Indo.

  14. You did Tom and the same applies to you as well, Steve and Joe. It’s up to Aidan himself how he deals with the media and this isn’t the place for bitching about what AOS to say in public.

  15. Noel Connolly would be a great addition to the backroom team. I cannot see McStay joining though. The only way he would leave his role with RTE is for an intercounty manager job, he aint gonna give it up to be a member of a backroom team.

    Could anyone tell me why the county PRO & vice-shairman needs to be involved in the process of speaking to James Horan? From my understanding of the PRO position, as I have held a few PRO posts in my time, he/she is there to look after things on the media side, the advertising side and generally getting information out for the county board. Neither of these people need to be involved in speaking to the manager. Too many people are getting involved from the county board on that side of things. Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer are all that is needed when discussing Horan’s future.

    The problem with the current county board, in my opinion, is the same as with previous ones. They all want to be involved at the top and cannot handle it when something is said or done that is not in their favour. They need to speak to the clubs, get together an idea of what is needed from their side of things and bring this to the meeting. Let Horan bring his ideas and then have them thrash out a deal that suits all parties. Instead of the county board flat out saying ‘you are not getting this’ or ‘we only have that’. The future of Mayo football is what should be the important issue, not what members of the county board feel can strengthen their own position or weaken the managers.

    Apologies for the rant WJ. Been feeling very negative towards the county board this season and seeing the ‘interview’ panel just set me off

  19. I think they are close enough to making a significant breakthrough that walking away is not an option, ger caff would be mad to go away traveling after all his hard work. Nobody can tell the future but the pointers are there that say Mayo are on the verge of making it happen.
    I would keep the whole setup as is and adjust one or two things, a communication system for every single game and learn to use it properly in the league.
    This 2013 final loss should be used as another valuable lesson, Mayo are very close to being unbeatable. 2013 showed that, even the final could have been won easily if we were are up right.

  22. David, the important thing is that they ” are up right.”. Without that it’s goodbye and goodnight again!!!

  25. “Santy” is apparently going to look after the communication system David. This is how serious some people using this forum take absolute no-brainer ideas.

    Sometimes you can tell someone’s age from their posts. It’s all a big laugh, hahaha or should I say hohoho.

  26. Pacar – I shouldn’t have to tell you (but it looks like I do) that that comment of yours is out of bounds – house rule 8 applies (again).

  28. Tom61 – despite your constant attempts to have the first and last word on every subject since you stumbled on this site, it would appear that humour isn’t something you’re able to spot too well! You can keep that ageist comment to yourself too.

  33. Great news about James staying. Mayo need to come out hard from the blocks right from the get go. From the fbd to the league to the championship, Mayo need to play each and every game with a frightening intensity. Give new guys a run and let them show their stuff. If they press the old guard for places, all the better. That’s the way that it should be, not this nonesense talk that has been bandied around about seasoned players falling on to their swords.

    Last year we let teams that had no right to beat us in the league, beat us. We can’t afford to fuck about this year. Mayo need to send a serious message direct to the smug cliche put down clique. The message needs to be loud and clear right from the off. Focussed, intense, relentless pressure must be applied to each and every game played. We have the squad and we have the management in place. We got the team of players, that’s the hard bit.

    On a lighter note it’s nice to see Tom61 riding shotgun for WJ on the comment monitoring front. Miracles can happen

  35. 2012 Senior football expenses. Senior football expenses rose by almost €130,000 to €480,443. Over half of that figure – €270,972 – went on travelling expenses. A total of €84,257 went on catering, €72,836 on sportsgear and €52,269 on medical expenses for the senior footballers.

  36. A huge amount I’d imagine, a huge chunk of which was because of the fact we have been in 2 AI Finals under James. They should make as much as is needed available!

    I asked before, about jersies and merchandise. How much, if any, money would Mayo CB get out of the sale of, say, a Mayo Jersey, t shirt etc?

  38. Good news at last, we’re not that far away and the least upheaval the better.
    BTW (and I know it’s not everyone’s favourite) but after watching the IR last weekend, I think Mac,Aido, Boyler and Leroy’s attitude and performance gave us some indication of their intent and I think that will be carried forward to the 14 campaign.They definitely showed that they belong with the rest at the top table.

  41. No O’Connor for the NFL next year then, which forward is going to step up and score what he does consistently? at least O’Connor will be fully fit for the championship.

  43. I agree AOS to much media for my liking and will tell him so wen i meet em again on the street in castlebar……

  44. Freeman of course,showed he was up to it in all ire .semi,s and cant blame him if he,s pissed off after fina…., in hindsight now prob. shoud,ent have started cill.oconn.in final……And what about the forgotten man Doherty….

  45. Sorry
    I meant to say “set up right”.
    I’d be hoping they were upright or we’d be finding it hard for the kickouts.

  47. Players travel expenses accounts for the vast majority I’d imagine. Round trips from Dublin costs a lot in diesel these days!

  48. Yes the Doc is the real deal if fit, they are both class forwards and the more game time the better they’ll get IMO

  52. He will probably pretend to be on the phone!! At least he picked his club over country fair play to him for that.

  53. Cardio fitness won’t be an issue. He’ll get a good, well needed rest, along with Dillon who I believe is having his surgery too. I’d say he’ll be back running soon enough

  54. Don’t forget team building trips and holidays for reaching AIF. Also “pocket money” they get for these trips. Here’s what OLLIE Dillon uncle of Mayo footballer Alan Dillon claimed his county board put the team in a hotel resembling “a building site” for their holiday to Miami in January.

  57. As a doddery 61 year old, I know, you can can figure my age by my posts, a few rickety observations. James Horan continues as manager. That was a given and only if he stepped down himself would the chalice pass from him.

    The easy part is done. Horan doesn’t need the likes of me carping at him but to those of my era Mayo is a continuing book and journey. James and his merry men are but a chapter in it. The man has done well, he has seen his team beaten in championship football only three times in three years. Twice in finals, once in the semi. Stellar by any count.

    And yet the grip James Horan had on the cup twelve months ago v Donegal has been lessened in the last month or so after the Dublin defeat. Hard calls that required taking from my vantage point weren’t. Forwards flagged 12 months ago were not found either. Actually we lined out 12 of the semi final 2011 team v Kerry in the 2013 final. Progression or tactical and technical expertise form Donie Buckley who honed those guys to a high level of tackling and turning over?

    Sometimes a guys mission in life is to be a pathfinder. He clears the trail for others and frequently hes not there when the bright ribbon is cut. Those that know though acknowledge the work done and the satisfaction is the trailblazer’s even though hes not the breakthrough kid.

    Art McRory and Eugene McKenna hit against the glass ceiling with fine Armagh and Tyrone teams. I recall Ger Houlihan and Jarlath Burns starring for Armagh. Great players and leaders,both were gone when the breakthrough came. To smash the glass ceiling both county boards took on board guys who were national winners. Enter Big Joe of Crossmaglen and Micky Harte of Minor and U21 fame in Tyrone.

    The journey started out in St Brigids by various managers including John O Mahoney and Anthony Daly was finished by another. No shame in that, only sense and good planning. James Horan might choose to redefine himself. Take away the noose of winning an All Ireland, lift the albatross and fuck it away. Build a team worthy of the next stage and when the chips finally fall…indeed it may be another who throws the rope on the pier but the work done by Horan will never be forgotten.

  59. John, You make one terrible mistake in the latest of your great posts…….you couldn’t possibly be a doddery 61 year old!

  60. As a doddery 62 year old, let me say that I am happy that JH is continuing, or as noospaper people would put it, set to continue. And equally happy that Buckley is ‘set to continue’.

    For every pathfinder argument, you can look at others who got teams over the line. Brian McEniff in Donegal for one; I recall a Donegal man saying to me in the Spring of 1992 that he didn’t care if Donegal won the All Ireland, he wanted McEniff (who was there forever) out. Three months later they won the Al Ireland. Fergie was a long time with United before he got them over the league title line.

    And, essentially, that was the thinking of the County Board in 06 when they shafted Moran and Morrison who had brought Mayo to a final and in the process beat Dublin in the ‘game of the century’. Dublin by the way were so fancied before that match, you felt Mayo had a cheek to turn up. Remember it? O’Mahony was to be the trump card; he was back where he belonged and he would have Sam where it belonged in next to no time.

    So, if Horan and team are the best around, I, for one, will be behind them 100%. Yes, it is essential that ‘other voices’ can feed in on match days so that some objectivity can be brought to bear in making changes or switches.

    And, if better players forwards particularly, are found and prove themselves – great. But I would be slow to discard any of the squad. Fitness questions that lay dormant during the championship, came home to roost in the final. We all raised the question of whether Mayo would be found out in a really tight tough game, because we hadn’t had one all year. Yet, who can complain if you are winning matches by ten points and more continually.

    What we do need also – and JH has to be the one to realise this, is that the squad gets game time during the year. During the 2013 championship our top league (and 2012!) players, Barry Moran, Mickey C, Jason Doherty got practically no game time. Add Jason Gibbons a very mobile midfielder to that. These guys were every bit as good as the Dublin subs, but the Dublin subs were an essential part of the 20 man squad. Our guys weren’t.

    We need to be able to out muscle and out pace everyone else. We are nearly there

  62. “Confusion” reigns. (He was Chinese you know). I meant “up for it”, but ‘set up right’ is also major.

  63. Joe, “come out hard from the blocks” is so true. I have always said, “like little dogs”. Snapping at players’ heels and harassing them puts even the best player off his game. My example, (once again), a very average Leitrim team beating a fancied Mayo team in the Connacht final. They were like terriers and Mayo had no answer.
    Look at Mayo against Donegal, repeat that hunger and no team would beat them!!!

  64. “We need to be able to out muscle and out pace everyone else.”

    Or just score more than the opposition.

    Mayo’s problem is simple, the entire county freezes on the big day. Head problems pure and simple, I have been saying this since the day I joined this blog. John Cuffe and a few others agree, WJ and the majority are in huge denial. The road to any recovery begins with admitting that you have a problem, until then Mayo will collectively falter on the big day. The football ability, conditioning etc are there, but the heads ain’t right. Another problem that Mayo will have down the line is finance, nothing has been learned from the excesses of the celtic tiger.

  65. Good post Ross.

    The finance issue is critical. The coffers have had a windfall with the success of the last two years. That is as good as it is going to get and yet James is having his budget cut!! And this despite promises two years ago that the bailout of the County Board would not affect resources to the teams.

    So what happens if the lads crash out early next year and the fundraising options try up? It’s a vicious circle and we could fall behind. Yet too few are willing to ask the questions. Many talk the talk too and won’t put their hands in their pockets. If we want Sam we have to be willing to back James and the lads to the hilt financially. Any successful county has a successful fundraising programme in place – not for substandard development projects but for team and training development. And as a County Board it is in their interest to invest in the top team because success will breed more money to pay have the mortgage that they have inflicted on future generations of Mayo GAA.

  66. Sorry John, first of all I can claim the doddery old guy crown for now unless there is another contender for the throne, 73 years: (I actually spend a lot of my time on the throne, royalty will always burst forth.)

    Great post as usual and so true. Look at he Irish rugby team, depending on all the old faithfuls in case they lose, and that’s just what they did. Look at them now!!

  67. Certainly there are questions surrounding the head on the big day. All of the cumulative losses over the past 25 odd years has to have an effect especially on pressure to deliver. But I don’t agree its the only issue (or even the biggest one) that contributes to losing.

    If that argument were totally valid then we wouldn’t have reached All Irelands in the first place. Take 2006 when we were essentially dead and buried in the semi-final. We came back to win it in a remarkable way. This example I think this debunks that argument.

    You have to give credit to other sides. You have to get your tactics right. Players have to perform. You can’t afford basic mistakes against top sides.

  68. Catcol, good points as well. 62, just a child! As I said to John, 73, so far King of the heap,(albeit doddery)

  71. I hope you’re not suggesting Joe that the team lacks the hunger to win the All Ireland on the final day.

  72. Joe , I have the hunger , nothing else counts and I have it , I will line out for Mayo in the FBD in January,
    trouble is I am 39 and on me best day i was shite, I have the hunger though.

  73. Tell me joe, who exactly are the old faithfuls in the mayo squad?? Our oldest player is Alan Dillon at 31. Yet Alan Brogan at 32 in Dublin is being touted by jim gavin as the man who will add something extra to Dublin next season and “has a few years left in him yet”. This despite 24 months of injury hell.
    Why should andy Moran (30) and Alan Dillon and David Clarke (30) be any different? (all our other players are in their twenties and certainly wont be retiring so I assume these are the guys you are referring to)

    I wouldn’t be so quick to toss these players on the scrapheap just yet, every member of that panel has the potential to contribute over the next 2-3 years.

  74. jpm, why didn’t they perform? Had they the same hunger they had against Donegal? Look what they did to Donegal. What’s the answer then?

  75. Roger, Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit. If you are tongue in cheek, I will apologise right now, but I suspect you are serious.
    I am talking about Mayo, one of the best teams in the country, not you.
    “Look what they did to Donegal” as i mentioned a minute ago. I find it so wearisome that people cannot get it. ” Every f…ing* sports person in the world”, in all sports, will fail if they have not got the hunger. This is not my personal opinion, it is based on fact.
    Here we have the same shite being pushed again, just like all last year. Some people never learn. At least now others are on the same hymn sheet, (a lot of Mayo’s problems are in the head), which is real progress.

  76. True, Mac’s left boot. I didn’t word it just right. For “old faithfuls” I wasn’t talking about age really; I meant stale players who have been round a long time and weren’t really performing on the day. There was no regular injection of new blood. How does that sound?

  77. Careful there, Joe Mc – just because your position may differ from what you’ve seen others say doesn’t mean you can brand this as “the same shite”. Nobody’s infallible here, nobody should be putting their position on things out there as some kind of irrefutable fact. In relation to the point you’re making, hunger may well have something to do with it but then again it may not and even if does it’s possible it’s not even the most relevant factor.

  78. Rosseneri and others,
    I don’t deny that there may be a ‘head’ problem on final day. But the point I was making is that this is not peculiar to Mayo. But, we don’t have a divine right to win it if opponents are better.

    One might point to our minors down the years as real examples of Mayoitis on AIF day. Down, Tyrone twice in finals including draw, and semi final, and Armagh. No question those ones slipped away.

    Six losses since 85. Lo and behold, if they don’t come and win it this year, against Tyrone of all teams. And it wasn’t just that they had good forwards and backs. The three points they hit leading up to the 70th minute were wonderful; psychologically, aesthetically and best of all mathematically! Senior management should look seriously at minors’ AIF prep in order to learn

  79. Fair comment Willie Joe. ” same shite”, personal. Won’t happen again.
    I would question anyone saying that ‘hunger’ actually isn’t essential for success in any sport.
    I would welcome others’ opinions that without hunger you will win nothing. Imagine a boxer fighting without hunger, fire in his belly!!

    I would question your “hunger may well have something to do with it”. I would say it has everything to do with it.
    Again you say ” it’s possible it’s not even the most relevant factor.” Once again I would say it is the most relevant factor, the building block, the essence of success. Why do I have to quote Leitrim’s victory over Mayo again and again?
    I am not for one second trying to be arguementative here. I just feel very strongly about what, to me, seems a basic fact of life.

  80. I’m not saying that hunger isn’t an important factor in any team that wants to succeed. Rather I’m questioning the extent to which hunger (or the lack of it) was a factor in this year’s final defeat. In my view, there’s nothing to suggest in how that match went that a lack of hunger on the lads’ part contributed to that loss and I’d say it’s more than a bit insulting to the commitment of the players (not least given the narrow margin of defeat) to infer that it was.

  81. We were beaten by a slightly better team on the day. They had a Bernard Brogan who knocked in 2-3 – we didn’t! And the lads who were getting our scores during the rest of the campaign had their hands full trying to defend a very attack minded bunch of Dubs.
    @ Jo Mac I cannot see a lack of hunger in any of our lads. Maybe they are TOO hungry for victory and this anxiety is inhibiting their performance of the skills. My experience of working with teams is that you have to actually take the emphasis off winning strangely enough and place it on performing the tasks required on the day instead.
    And if anxiety is the problem I’m afraid it will only get worse the longer we go without winning a final.

  82. Willie Joe, I am in no way singling out the All Ireland final as an example and I am not inferring anything about most of the players. At this stage I realise I have opened a can of worms and I will now close it without further comment as it will only cause non-productive arguement.

  83. Surely the realisation is creeping in by now that we are not doing everything right come all Ireland final day, where is it exactly we are going wrong I don’t exactly know and we all seem to have different angles, so we can’t be all right or are we all wrong , who knows but it still has to be looked into with great insight and figured out.

    Hunger……I wouldn’t question it as such.

    Freeze ….I believe some players do freeze.

    Psychologically …… I still maintain all is not right here, from my psychological armchair on one point, when Andy got the goal, it was not a winning goal but his body language was telling me it was, this ” we deserve an all Ireland , this is ours” mentality showed imo, Horans reaction was a wry smile and a wink type thing again the we deserve this it’s our all Ireland type attitude was what it showed imo. That is bollix , nobody deserves an all Ireland they have to be won and won on the day,it doesn’t matter a fook what we have been through as a county, whoever the opposition is they will not give a shite for what heartbreak we have been through.

    When you’re in an era of producing a side that are capable of dominating their province with ease and you have won quarters and semis , it becomes ” it’s all about winning Sam Maguire” era , your whole year should be designed to play your heart out in September final day, you should not be in any way distracted by massive performances prior to reaching the final, everything should be geared to up it a bit more.

    Jack o Conor seen this weakness in Mayo in 06 after we had beaten Dublin and he exploited it.

    The Donegal game this year went to some peoples heads, we thought we were invincible , Tyrone game should of woke a few up but it didn’t fully work out that way for some.

    Tomas o Se alluded to the way he always geared towards the latter end of the championship, you have to be looking to produce your best football on all Ireland final day if you’re fortunate enough to be part of a team who can get there.

    Mayo can win the all Ireland next year because they are a very good side (still shy a forward though)and we are in an era when there aren’t that many good sides about

  84. Horan confirmed to stay on and from tonights statement

    James Horan is convinced his team will win an All-Ireland

    Almost every Mayo supporter was convinced they would win the All Ireland this year i guess we’ll wait and see..

  85. Full statement from the CB below….HUP Mayo! Maybe we can “chill out” a bit now…

    Statement Re: Mayo Senior Football Manager 23/10/2013

    The Mayo County Board Officers earlier tonight held a very productive meeting with James Horan. The Mayo Senior Football Manager has confirmed that he will be staying on as manager and is 100% committed and looking forward to 2014.

    Mayo manager James Horan is convinced his team will win an All-Ireland and described the speculation earlier this month on his future as “pure nonsense”.
    After guiding the county to three Connacht titles and two All-Ireland finals during his three-year term, the Ballintubber native will enter his fourth season at the helm intent on ending Mayo’s 63-year wait for Sam Maguire.
    “Nothing has changed, the ambition of this squad is to win an All-Ireland and that is an ambition that drives us all,” he said.

    Both the management team and players already have their heads down and really relishing the challenge ahead and next year cannot come quick enough. The Management Team, Players and County Board will strive to make 2014 every bit as good as 2013 was.

    James Horan has confirmed that James Nallen will not be part of next year’s back room team. The Crossmolina man, who has been part every Mayo squad since 1995, has had to step back due to family and work commitments.
    “It’ll be a real shame not to have James with us next year, he’s been an inspirational figure to the players and, having played 132 competitive games for Mayo, his experience was something we could always turn to. Replacing a real legend in Mayo football won’t be easy. I’ve met a few people but it’s too early to announce anything.”

    The Mayo County Board at this stage would like to sincerely thank James Nallen for his commitment over the last 2 years in the management setup, and we look forward to seeing him in the future.

  86. Great news confirmed , obviously James believes the commitment is still there or why would he stay. I for one am breathing a lot easier now. Time to look forward once again.

  88. Excellent post there Sean Burke. I think you have hit the nail on the head.
    We still haven’t mentally taken on board what it takes to win an All Ireland in the modern era. It takes 3 huge matches in Croke Park in August/September each year.
    The mistake that we are making is that when we win one of these matches we think we have the job done. We are repeatedly not being consistent over these 3 crucial matches.
    After a huge performance this year against Donegal we all turned up for the coronation on All Ireland Final Day. Our mental problem is foolish arogance & until we realise we have no right to expect others to accomodate our wishes in Croke Park we will continue to flounder. It’s in our own hands …. we have to perform three times …. and take Sam away from the opposition.
    We now have a team good enough to win. We have to peak for August/September each year. We will have to perform three times not once or twice.
    The early part of the year should be devoted to resting tried & trusted players, finding a few new players that may be able to contribute in August/September & giving game time to those panel members who have not got much time thus far.
    Having done all that our game management in August/September needs considerable improvement.
    We have a ‘Head’ problem alright. We need to ditch the foolish arrogance.

  89. Great news. Although he has made mistakes, there is no doubt we have improved hugely under him. I am also delighted that buckley is Staying on. We can all look forward to next year. The pain of September is still very raw but time to start looking to next year. A good selector on board will be crucial

    Will be interesting to see what forwards he tries out in the league. Would like to see more experimentation than this year whe only c freeman and Carolan were really tried out. Coen, sweeney, Gallagher, Kirby are all worth a look in my opinion.

  90. For sure the weight of expectation on Mayo teams is a major factor on A L F day, as we never seem to produce anything near our best form when it matters most. Sure we can always count on a few fine individual performances, but to get over the line on the big day we need every member of the team working their socks off for each other, with the understanding that when they have nothing more to give, they will be called ashore and replaced by another player who will do likewise.

    Dublin’s tactic from the start was clear, to use their pace to run the legs of us, so much so, that they had run themselves into the ground sooner than expected and had used up all their subs with still ten minutes to go, but of course by then they had that three point lead that proved just enough in the end.

    Pace and a very high level of fitness were Dublin’s trump cards this year. Obviously they have a lot of fine footballers on their panel too, but there work rate, hunger and that never say die attitude was there for all to see and in the end was enough to deny the Mayo team their place in history……..

  91. Great news. Even though expected, great to see it confirmed.

    Best news since AIF day. Roll on 2014. I am not predicting anything, but my appetite is whetted.

  92. A real pity to see James Nallen go but after 18 years service to Mayo football all we can say is Good Luck and THANK YOU James,a true legend of Mayo football.Hope to see you involved again some day

  93. Great news and and hopefully James can also admit to himself he might need to learn from mistakes just like the players will have too. Clean slate and let’s get roaring for 2014.

    On a note it is sickening to see many Mayo fans on social media sites saying he should have stepped down or gotten rid of….I even saw someone write bring in Ciaran MCDonald as no.2….!!!!!! Who are these nut cases? The amount of Johnny come lately fans that have come following this Mayo team is unreal…..ironic it’s Horan who has rose exceptions since he came in.

  94. Dublin also targeted us where we were strongest i.e. 1/2 back line and midfield. Their tactics and players won the majority of those key areas especially when we didn’t have the cushion of a lead to counter it from the first half domination period.

    The main problem for us (and rest of the country) is that Dublin could easily argue that their players did not perform either to the levels the fans were used to, and that a much higher level is anticipated next year now that the monkey is gone off these guys backs by retaining the All Ireland.

  95. Great news, onwards to 2014.
    Thanks to James Nallen for his commitment to our County for the past 18 years and the very best to him and his for the future.
    Looking forward to the new season with JH and DB at the wheel, to them and all the lads, enjoy the break and rest as best ye can and thanks for the pleasures of 2013 as it was a pleasure to see Mayo at the top table again.
    MaighEo Abú

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