McStay's men begin their next phase

FIVE weeks and counting.
Or possibly six weeks depending on how the draw for the group stages of the All-Ireland series plays out. That’s how long Mayo will have to wait until they return to competitive action.
They will go again on either the weekend of May 20/21 or May 27/28.
With a trip to the home of one of the four provincial champions awaiting them in round one.
Kevin McStay and his management team will have been sifting through the analysis, statistics and footage from the Roscommon match last weekend.
What they learned will be revealed to the Mayo players in the coming days.
The squad were given last week off and return to training this week.
Some players are understood to have taken the opportunity to head away on holidays while others, like Aidan O’Shea, turned out for club duty.
O’Shea lined out with Breaffy in the Kelly Cup semi-final against Castlebar Mitchels last Saturday.
Mikey Murray, who hasn’t featured for Mayo yet this season, also got some valuable game-time under his belt with Ballina Stephenites in the Sweeney Cup.
Others like Enda Hession are continuing their rehabilitation programmes and, all going well, edging closer to a return to full fitness.
The Garrymore defender last played with Mayo seven weeks ago, on the night he scored a goal against Tyrone.
Other injured players like David McBrien, James Carr and Kevin McLoughlin should all be back in contention to feature at the end of next month too.
The break won’t have done the likes of ever-presents like Stephen Coen, Mattie Ruane and Jordan Flynn any harm either. They lined out in all of Mayo’s eight National League matches.
This week is likely to see the Mayo squad begin a four-week block of training that should hopefully stand them in good stead for the fast and furious nature of the group stages.
“We are going completely into the unknown,” surmised Colm Boyle last week.
“But we’re well used to playing in the Qualifiers over the years and I think last year, after losing to Galway, it was six weeks as well before we played Monaghan.
“So we are used to these big breaks — whether we want them or not.
“But when we get back into this, the games are coming thick and fast.
“You have those first three games in that group of four, to try and get out of the group, which may turn into a fourth game if you end up in a preliminary quarter-final.
“So getting lads back on the pitch in the next six weeks is going to be a big thing for us,” added the four-time All Star defender.
“There was a lot of talk about our strength in depth earlier in the league and then you look at the bench against Roscommon and wonder, ‘where is our strength in depth gone?’
“Almost unnoticed to ourselves we picked up nicks and niggles and knocks that kept lads like Enda Hession and David McBrien out; Cillian O’Connor and Tommy Conroy are just back from their injuries, and you could just see a lack of sharpness there the last day.
“Combined with that, a lot of lads have played a lot of football and they looked a bit flat against Roscommon.
“If you compared the intensity of the first night we played Galway. . the intensity that night was off the charts, I’ve never seen anything like it for a league game.
“Then you fast forward ten weeks and we were certainly flat.
“So that might be a concern, but the six week period to the All-Ireland series might be an opportunity to recharge the batteries, take a down week, and then when they meet up as a group again they will set the focus and set the goal of what needs to be done.
“But getting boys back, and getting a full block of training done over the next four or five weeks will be huge for Mayo.”
It will be interesting to see if any of the Mayo Under-20 squad are called up by Kevin McStay and company now that their interest in the championship has ended.
Sam Callinan and Bob Tuohy are already well-established members of the senior panel, but the likes of Ciaran Boland, Seán Morahan, Fenton Kelly and Jack Fallon also spent some time training with the seniors earlier in the year.
Of that quartet, Davitts’ Kelly seems the most likely to be called in on the evidence of last week’s display.
Bryan Walsh, who has been struggling with injury in recent months and didn’t feature in the National League, is understood to have been released back to his club, Ballintubber, following the final win over Galway.
Below is a list of the players that The Mayo News understands currently makes up the senior championship panel.

MAYO SQUAD
GOALKEEPERS
Colm Reape, Rory Byrne, Rob Hennelly.
DEFENDERS
Jack Coyne, Donnacha McHugh, Eoghan McLaughlin, Stephen Coen, Conor Loftus, Paddy Durcan, Jason Doherty, David McBrien, Enda Hession, Rory Brickenden, Sam Callinan, Ruairi Keane, Padraig O’Hora, Michael Plunkett, Brendan Harrison.

MIDFIELDERS
Matthew Ruane, Diarmuid O’Connor, Mikey Murray.
FORWARDS
Fionn McDonagh, Jack Carney, Jordan Flynn, Aidan O’Shea, Tommy Conroy, Ryan O’Donoghue, Darren McHale, Cillian O’Connor, Kevin McLoughlin, Bob Tuohy, James Carr, Conor McStay, Frank Irwin, Paul Towey, Aidan Orme, Ethan Gibbons.