BACK TWO THE FUTURE

Moran's logic for returning stars is on the scoreboard

- BY GARRY DOYLE

ANDY Moran doesn't pretend last season was acceptable.

Mayo were competitive without being convincing, close without being close enough.

They reached a League final and a Connacht decider, beat Tyrone away and pushed Donegal to the brink - and yet still exited the Championship at the round-robin stage.

For a county that reached six All-Ireland finals between 2012 and 2021, it wasn't enough.

One stat in particular gnawed at the new Mayo manager. Under the new two-point rule, Mayo managed just three in six Championship games.

In an era where games are being swung from distance, that was a glaring deficiency.

And so Moran made the calls.

Rob Hennelly and Cillian O'Connor.

Two men who had already given Mayo everything, coaxed back into the fray because the team needed them.

"You look through that 2021 team that was beaten by Tyrone in the All-Ireland final," Moran says, "and there were nine or 10 of that starting team not part of the squad last year, including Tommy Conroy. That's too big a turnover for a county like Mayo."

Moran is acutely aware of the balance he must strike. Youth has flooded the panel, with 19 and 20-year-olds now forming a core part of the group. But experience still matters. Players between 28 and 32, he believes, are at the peak of their powers.