National Football League Division One ASeán Moran looks at the reason's behind the county's impressive national league campaign
At first glance the Mayo football job should have been an unappealing prospect last autumn. The team had appeared to over-reach themselves two years ago by getting to an All-Ireland final and running into Kerry's propellers, a setback that if not quite repeated in last year's championship certainly wasn't reversed.
Instead the arrival of the experienced management duo of Mickey Moran and his assistant John Morrison, effectively teamed with local selector Kieran Gallagher, galvanised the team and tomorrow Mayo take on Tyrone with a place in the Allianz NFL play-offs up for grabs.
The county have been a very consistent presence at this level and victory this weekend would mean a fourth semi-final in six years, but the form of the team has still been a surprise given the amount of sifting and assessing that had to be done in a short space of time since the relatively late appointment (the last senior intercounty vacancy of 2005).
The momentum that led to five wins out of five at the start of the campaign shuddered on the tracks only a fortnight ago when Dublin brought off an emphatic win in Parnell Park but the management is confident this didn't represent a derailing.
"I think we saw it as a hiccup rather than a disaster," says Morrison, "and when it was all over we were still leading the league by two points. Dublin deserved to win but by three points rather than nine. I feel that a trouncing is when you get beaten by 12 or 13 points rather than three goals on a wet surface."
Tomorrow will be a significant test of where Mayo are going. Tyrone have become the litmus test for football teams even at this time of the year. Being able to live with the pace and strength on which the All-Ireland champions build their game would constitute an excellent health check for the home side in Castlebar.
Although the team selections have been very consistent, a number of first-choice players have been unavailable in recent weeks. Goalkeeper David Clarke, Ciarán McDonald, David Brady, Trevor Mortimer, and his brother Conor have all missed at least a few fixtures thanks variously to injury, suspension and disinclination.
Yet, five positions - which would have been six had Conor Mortimer not picked up a lengthy suspension when playing as well as at any time of his career - have been constant in the starting line-up, including the whole half-back line, and there has been little chopping and changing elsewhere with just five players started in the full-back line, three at centrefield and 10 up front.
This is commendable consistency under new management, but maybe also a bit light on trialling new players, including those who came within a couple of points of an under-21 All-Ireland two years ago. Eight of that team who lost to Armagh have made appearances but hardly any are new faces. To date, the emphasis has been on picking the best team and getting it accustomed to the game plan.
Morrison doesn't like the characterisation of the teams he and Moran work with as being short-ball oriented. "Most teams will play a long ball when they want to. You have to keep the ball safe in certain areas. Mayo play fast football in what is technically a multi-sprint sport, not one based on stamina. Tyrone do it best. It's what I call 360 degree football: when you have the ball everyone's an attacker; when you don't everyone's a defender."
The team have handed out a couple of calling cards. Ger Brady has slotted in at centre forward, bringing a strong running game to the position normally occupied by McDonald with his repertoire of kicked passes and long-range shooting. The jury's still out on the extent to which Brady can, literally, run the show on the 40 in the face of an extra man dropped deep or a cluster defence.
With McDonald nearly back in action, the question arises as to whether Brady can be accommodated elsewhere or whether McDonald should move in closer to goal. "You're answering the question," says Morrison. "That's the dilemma we have."
In fact, the whole team have been very settled in the central positions. David Heaney has lined out at full back except when unavailable despite the evidence that his more natural, expressive instincts come against him when facing elite full-forward lines. In front of him James Nallen is still the first-choice centre back after a decade and centrefield will be led by Ronan McGarrity, who is now free to concentrate on football with the basketball season over, together with James Gill or Billy Joe Padden. The spine of the attack has, to date, been Brady and Austin O'Malley, although Padden is listed at full forward tomorrow.
David Brady's return to the panel as soon as he completes a suspension will add to the options at centrefield although he's unlikely to have 70 minutes in him and the conundrum of McDonald's accommodation has already been mentioned. Yet, Morrison believes the consistency of the season to date has been a big plus regardless of how this weekend finishes.
"A lot of time has been spent in getting a squad and although no squad's ever finished it's allowed us to play a consistent team and consistency of personnel is a factor in winning.
"People will put their own level of importance on the league but from our point of view, there were no goals laid down for the league. We wanted to see had we a team, a panel and styles of play. So far we're happy with that."
