IT might not have been a surprise, but for Mayo fans, finding ourselves outside the top 12 and looking on aimlessly as the championship really heats up is really not a nice feeling.

The shock of being dumped out in the final seconds of the group stages still has not really abated, and the misery of defeat amidst uncertainty about the future has settled heavily.

It’s probably still a bit early to take stock, but here are some thoughts about where we are, and where we might end up going. 

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DECISIVE ACTION NEEDED 

AS the murmurs of discontent continue, it’s vital that Mayo County Board take swift, decisive action around the management decision this time.

To be clear, there is no management vacancy - a year remains on Kevin McStay’s contract - but after a painfully drawn-out review process in 2024, the board simply cannot allow the situation to fester similarly again.

Doubt, rumour and bad feeling flourish in vacuums, and either a decision is made quickly to retain the current management, or to to seek a new manager and to have them in place as close to the start of the the club championships as possible.

The longer a question mark hangs over this, the more likely it is that Mayo’s off-field shenanigans will be plastered all over the pages of the papers like they have been far too often in previous winters.

No-one needs that – board, management, or supporters. It’s preventable, so let’s hope it’s prevented.  

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MAKE THE FUTURE BRIGHT

THERE is little question that there is plenty of young talent within the ranks of Mayo GAA.

Maybe not stand-out, once-in-a-generation talent, but very decent talent, more than enough to sustain us on a good run over the next decade.

How do we ensure that we continue to nurture that talent, keep them enthused enough to put the work in to play for Mayo at the highest level, and get the very best out of them?

That won’t be down to management alone; it will require good, consistent coaching, excellent communication, a solid delivery line through the ranks and the right environment for talent to prosper. And a good forwards’ coach.

Most of all, it will require encouraging creativity and risk-taking on the field of play. Let the kids play. Let them shoot. If they miss, let them shoot again. 

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HOME FORTRESS NEEDS WORK

WAS MacHale Park ever really a fortress? Maybe not, but it is the complete opposite to one now. “Home advantage” has rarely felt like more of a misnomer.

Vastly oversized and cavernous, it is impossible to generate an atmosphere without a full-house, and it will take a lot of work and no small bit of imagination and indeed, some marketing savvy, to build a strong emotional connection between fans and place to create a venue where teams and fans can feed off each other’s energy.

And again, it is long past time to re-examine the disgracefully poor match-day experience for disabled people. We could learn a lot from our neighbours in Roscommon on this front, or from grounds like Healy Park in Omagh - if we were willing to look and listen. And please. Fix the toilets. 

LET THE PLAYERS DO MEDIA

ONCE upon a time, Andy Moran told us we were “Mayo and we’re in it together,” or words to that effect.

On those big, big days over the last decade, it felt like it too. I have a vivid memory of being in Croke Park in August 2014, and with Mayo four points down, the 16th man kicked into gear.

Defiant, the fans blew the roof off the place. We did the same in Limerick six days later, and while we all know the outcome that day, it wasn’t for the lack of support.

Contrast that to the current situation where fans are jaded and have lost interest and voice. There is no siege mentality like in Donegal and Armagh because fans are frozen out.

There is so little to connect fans to the current team because fans don’t know them. With only the rare exception (which you sense is frowned upon) they don’t do media.

They don’t owe it to fans, and of course we are not entitled to it, but doing it doesn’t damage the cause, and not doing it arguably also deprives young players of an opportunity.

It's an amateur sport. Pull the shutters up and let us get a sense for who we are meant to be supporting. 

REBUILD THE BRAND

THIS isn’t unconnected to the previous point. During the “good” years it always struck me how poor Mayo were at capitalising on their brand both in marketing collateral and as a means of raising funds.

Supporter numbers were through the roof, yet trying to get your hands on a bit of merchandise for a Christmas or birthday present was a lottery.

Demand was high, opportunity was low. There was and is nowhere to pick up a bit of gear on matchdays.

Our sponsors weren’t exactly generating colour or excitement on match days or acting with much imagination even in the good times, and that remains the case today. 

Once upon a time, Cairde Mhaigh Eo members were rewarded with a bit of Mayo gear – and that gear is still doing the rounds today.

We don’t – unfortunately - have a Commercial Director, and times are very different now, with other factors to consider, but if we did, a bit of attention to marketing and rebuilding the connection between fans and county would be no harm and would make future fundraising a lot easier too.

Goodwill still exists among the Mayo public. But they need to feel part of it to be part of it.

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