Ian O'Riordan discovers how Mickey Moran has managed to get the most from his players.

Eight months ago Mickey Moran set out from his home in south Derry for his first competitive match as Mayo senior football manager. A few miles outside Ballinrobe, where Mayo were playing NUI Galway, his car broke down.

Most people would see that as a bad omen. Maybe even a good omen. Moran saw it as neither of the two. He doesn't seem to think along predictable lines like that. He always seems to be looking beyond the horizon, behind the sun, at the end of the rainbow, which is one reason why he's hard to figure out.

Bring his assistant, John Morrison, into the frame, the exact opposite to Moran in everything from size to style, and you have a management team harder still to figure out. The mystery behind these two men is possibly the most fascinating aspect of Mayo's progress to Sunday's All-Ireland football final.

"I think they're two lovable guys," says midfielder Ronan McGarrity - not the description you'd expect to hear straight up, yet said with total honesty. "And I've great time for both of them. I don't know, they're like a second father to you. They're just lovely guys. They're not light on you though, not at all. If they know you're not performing well they get on your back, which is really what you need."

That close relationship is the starting point in the story of Moran and Mayo football. When Moran is asked about it he throws the compliment back: these footballers are lovable guys and it's a job he's clearly loving.

"We've an open, honest, relationship, and that's definitely one reason why we've done so well so far," he says. "When myself and John came in we wanted a clean sweep, and that's why we organised all those trials last year. And we were just rocked with the enthusiasm. And the number of lads that wanted to play for Mayo. It was that good, we ended up with 43 players in the FBD league, because we wanted to give as many a chance to play in the Mayo jersey. That meant a lot to them.

"So the sheer enthusiasm and pride was always there, and all we've really done is get across our coaching and training. But it had to be a total partnership. It was no good us just telling them what to do. Players are individuals, all have their own mind. And players won't run with things if they feel it's not working. So as John and I always said: 'Look, tell us if this is shite.' So there's been a real openness in training, and it's actually been enhanced as we have some great thinkers of the game.

"But you can't instil the character and determination and grit that they've showed so far. That's been there. I approached four people before going for this job, just to suss out what things were like, and the common denominator was that you will not find the Mayo players wanting in terms of sacrifice and commitment and everything like that. And that's been true."

Moran first earned his reputation as the conveyor of sound coaching, not love and happiness. And he's brought plenty of that to Mayo over the past eight months. Morrison designs most of the sessions with the philosophy that nothing is ever repeated - yet Moran is very much the tactical brain. Despite all the hype surrounding a certain Kieran Donaghy he doesn't view Sunday's game within such tactical limits.

"We're planning what we're planning. I can't control what Jack O'Connor does. We'll try to look at any eventuality that might happen, in terms of the players he has at his disposal. It could be a balance of high ball into Donaghy and maybe the diagonal ball across field into the two corner men.

"But we're training to meet any eventuality. Our training sessions aren't just about trying to stop Kerry. You have to believe in your own principles and players. You won't have an All-Ireland handed to you. You have to win it through your own hands, and you wouldn't want it any other way. It all makes for a tremendous battle.

"So we also know we can't go in there unless we have an absolute gut-wrenching bite to face everything head on. Because Kerry are still the benchmark. I don't know how many finals they've been in over the last five or six years, so it will take every ounce that we have in every department."

Mayo still know a lot more about losing finals than winning them. Moran deflects that question like a bad joke: "I was never there," he says with a grin. "Again we can only control what we control. That's what we're focused on. But after the Dublin match the players met themselves to make sure they got back down to earth. They know the Dublin match is no good to us if we don't go on and give it our best shot, go on and win this thing. That's the bottom line.

"So we'll present ourselves on the day ready to perform to the best of our ability. If that's good enough on the day, fantastic. If it's not I know the players couldn't have given it any more.

"And I've said before that religion to me is about people, not churches and buildings or whatever. And it's the same with football. That's about people as well. I don't care how cold-hearted some people make themselves out to be. You cannot work with 30 youngsters and not have affection for them, not love them to pieces. And do anything for them."

Mickey Moran, a loving and lovable guy.