Canavan tells Mayo fans: Keep the faith

SIZING THINGS UP! Special guest Peter Canavan and Mayo’s Aidan O’Shea shoot the breeze at The Mayo News/O’Neills Club Stars awards last Saturday night. Pic: Michael McLaughlin

Daniel Carey

PETER Canavan has predicted an All-Ireland football final between Mayo and his native Tyrone in 2017.
The two-time All-Ireland winner was speaking at last Saturday’s Mayo News/O’Neills Club Stars Charity Banquet, held in Knockranny House Hotel, Westport, where he was the special guest. Canavan remains confident that Mayo will win an All-Ireland title, but told supporters that they should be grateful for the level of success the county has enjoyed in recent years.
“Players in so many counties in this country ... are trying their damndest to be a success and to be competitive and to be winning things,” he told the crowd. “The players in this county – be it at underage or senior level – are in a very privileged position.”
The six-time All Star reminded those present that when asked which county he would like to manage, he plumped for Mayo. And he added: “They have [a] quality and calibre of players better than anywhere else in the country. And I still believe that.”
‘Peter The Great’ also suggested that he looks ‘favourably’ on Mayo because his native Tyrone ‘were the county that were taking the knocks that Mayo are taking in recent years’.
“Those knocks from outside the county aren’t too bad, because they motivate you and they really keep you going – and you ignore a lot of them,” he said. “But ... those that come from within the county are much more hurtful.”
The Sky Sports analyst urged the Mayo inter-county players present to remember that they ‘continue to inspire hundreds of young lads to play our game’. And he had a message for Mayo supporters too.
“Of course you want the ultimate success, but be grateful for what you have and for what the county players in this county do for you – the effort and the sacrifices that they, [Mayo manager] Stephen [Rochford] and so many other managers go through. You are in a privileged position, and you will get where you want to go some day, I’ve no doubt.”