HORAN: I WELCOME PRESSURE
JAMES HORAN has acknowledged the expectation surrounding his return to the Mayo helm, saying it is a reality of football in the county. Horan’s return to take charge of Mayo has revived hope in a county left bruised by failing to make the Super 8s in the summer. In his first media appearance since his reappointment, he welcomed the expectation — and said he expects his players to start preparing already for the challenges of 2019. He also revealed that conversations with older players yielded nothing but positives, which suggests the raft of expected retirements will not materialise. ‘There will always be expectation in Mayo, and that’s fine,’ said Horan (right). ‘We’re not even looking at the first round of the League on January 26. We have our first training session on November 12 and we’re always working hard to make sure that’s a really top session. ‘We’re looking for everyone to do something every day to be better, to be stronger. Whether that’s thinking patterns, doing a bit of flexibility stretching, watching a bit of analysis — whatever it is.’ The National League is likely to be the focus of Horan’s attention. Mayo struggled badly in recent seasons and he was candid about their struggles. ‘The League campaigns told an awful lot. Mayo have been on the ropes in an awful lot of the games where you think they should do well. When backs were to the wall, they got the victory. ‘It was very up and down, and that’s difficult going into Championship games, if you haven’t a level of performance or a baseline that’s steady. ‘It’s hard to develop some of the younger players through that when your backs are to the wall in the League all the time, because the pressure is on. I think some of that spilled over into the Championship.’