"There has to be a turnover of the squad" - Andy Moran on Mayo youth impact in 2026

New Mayo manager Andy Moran has spoken of his desire to give plenty of opportunities to youth as he stands on the verge of his maiden season in charge of the Green and Red.

Moran, who himself carved out an illustrious playing career, was speaking just weeks out from the start of the FBD League, where he plans to trial out a number of faces with few minutes under their belt in senior inter-county fare.

The former Leitrim bainisteoir had plenty to say regarding the recent successes at under-age level, which he believes will stand to his panel as they aim to get to the cut and thrust of the top table.

"I think there's always a time when there has to be a turnover of the squad," he surmised. "You have to give these young fellas the chance.

"In the last four years, we won three Connacht minors, and we won our first kind of title in under 20 for seven years.

"There's a crop of players coming through that like winning, that are used to winning."

"For me to do seven or eight of them in the league in a game would be too much. So you need to balance it with senior players beside them, guiding them through.

"There will be debuts and yes, those young lads will make mistakes and may cost you along the way, but I think that needs to be balanced with developing your squad and making yourself better over the next couple of years.

"I think some of these guys are good enough and ready to go, so why not straight away?"

For the new face in the dugout, the advice to the next generation of young cubs trying to carry the torch is simple: don't get too carried away, whether it be with the highs or the lows.

"What happens to an awful lot of players is they come in, and they play really, really well at the start. They explode onto it, and the first two games are good.

"Then all of a sudden, a forward might get taken out by a back or a back might get overplayed by a forward, then you see a massive confidence dip.

"It's just letting these young guys realise that this is not a straight line here. You're not going to go in, be that star that you are at 18, 19, 20 years of age, and that's the way it's going to go for the whole of your career.

"There's going to be a dip and realise that there's going to be a dip and that's what you learn from."

Mayo play their Sligo in their first FBD League game of the season in Father O'Hara Park, Charlestown, on Saturday, January 3, at 1.30 pm.