‘We’re building something special,’ says Mayo FC’s Anthony O’Neill

THERE'S a sense of purpose in the air when it comes to Mayo FC. The movement towards League of Ireland football is growing stronger with every passing week and the appointment of Anthony O'Neill as the club's new under-20 manager is a big signal of intent.

The UEFA A licensed coach joined the Milebush-based outfit a few weeks ago after a year as Director of Football at Westport United and he's excited about the prospect of shaping a new identity for League of Ireland soccer in the west of Ireland.

“It's an exciting time for myself and also the club. I have previous League of Ireland experience after speding four years at Galway United.

"I initially started off in the academy as an under-15 head coach and then I progressed on to work with the first team at Galway United in conjunction with working with under-17s as well.

“It was a dual role, so I had four great years there. There's been a lot of growth in the League of Ireland in the last five to ten years in terms of investment in clubs, attendances are up.

"So for Mayo FC, who is a relatively new club formed in 2023, it's good now to complete that academy pathway.

We have under-14s, under-15s, under-17s and now adding the under-20s and hopefully a men's team in the future, it just completes the pathway. So, I'm excited and proud to be the first under-20 men's head coach at Mayo FC.”

HIGHER LEVEL

Why did he move on from Westport United where he was making great strides with a very young team while the youth sides were impressing every time they went out?

“Westport United is a great club. I spent the last 12 months there and I'm very grateful for my time there. It's a club with a proud history and tradition in the game.

"They've had a lot of success over the years. So I had a great time there and it's a club with fantastic facilities and a great football committee as well,” he explained before being asked about the possible conflict between players wanting to leave junior clubs in the county to line out with Mayo FC.

“There are lots of clubs in Mayo developing fine young players. So I'd be hopeful that if you are a young player at one of these clubs and you have aspirations to play at a higher level in the future, that you come in and get assessed by the staff here at Mayo FC and maybe progress on to men's or women's senior football in the future. If not, then at least you'll have come in and played at a very high academy level.

“Obviously, we want to maintain good relationships with all the clubs throughout Mayo. So some young players may come in and they may go back to those clubs in the future as junior players.

“Hopefully, with the experience they've had here, with the games they've played across the country at national level, they'll go back better players and better people for it,” he continued.

Mayo FC are very hopeful of gaining a place in the about-to-be-announced third tier of the League of Ireland. Twenty teams will gain admission to the national league, ten in a northern section and ten in a southern group. Mayo have already been sternly assessed and the results have been very good.

O'Neill is excited about the prospect of Mayo FC joining national competition at adult level, and says it will open up great opportunities for players here.

FOOTBALL INDUSTRY

“The League has grown all the time. You even see very recently the announcements in the budget that the government are going to invest in the League of Ireland academies. Each club is going to have at least two full-time staff within the academy.

“We're finally going to have a football industry in this country. The academies are going to have a big part to play in that. That's obviously one of the appealing things for me, to be involved full-time in a club like this.

“Attendances are up across the county and the League of Ireland is getting more and more coverage on TV. Young players, boys and girls, are seeing this and I think they want to be a part of it.

“I think any young player who has talent and has the ability to play at this level should want to test themselves at the highest level. Obviously, a regional club like Mayo FC can now provide young players within the county with the opportunity to do that.

"For me, it's just great to be involved with something like that,” the new coach added before being asked if adult League of Ireland soccer will actually become a reality in Mayo.

“Nothing has been officially announced yet, but we are hopeful. The club put together a very good application to the FAI and we expect to know their decision at the announcement of the 20 clubs that will be in the new national league by the end of November.

“Obviously, it would be great for the county of Mayo and the surrounding region if we got into the national league. I'm currently the under 20 team manager and no matter what club you're at, no matter what League of Ireland club it is, or any club in the UK or across Europe, at that age you really are at the start of men's football.

“So if there's young players out there, aged 17, 18, 19 years of age, that have aspirations to play in men's League of Ireland football, hopefully for Mayo in the future, the under 20 completes the academy pathway into that. “We're very enthusiastic about the future here in Mayo FC and this is only the start of it all.”