Success will be measured in All-Ireland terms only for Keane and Horan
THE contrast is as unmistakable as it is interesting. Mayo go back to the future as they appoint James Horan for a second term while Kerry place their trust in a man whose inter-county management experience is confined to minor level.
Presiding over three successive All-Ireland minor wins in 2016-’17-’18 convinced the county’s power-brokers that Peter Keane is the right choice to succeed Eamonn Fitzmaurice at a time of huge urgency in Kerry.
Winning only one of the last nine senior All-Irelands is disappointing enough for Kerry without having it exacerbated by their great rivals Dublin inching ever closer to a peak never previously conquered.
And while there will be plenty of platitudes from Kerry about how Keane must be given time to stamp his imprint on the senior landscape, the reality is he will be under immense pressure to prevent Dublin winning the five-in-a-row next year.
Other counties, including Mayo, also have Dublin in their sights, but it’s more personal with Kerry, who have set most records in football.
However, the five-in-a-row has eluded them so it would be especially painful if that milestone were to be reached by Dublin next year.
Keane is aware of that, but he can’t allow it to overly influence his approach.
He takes over the job at a time when Kerry have won five successive minor titles, which everyone in the county expects to be translated into senior success fairly quickly.
It won’t be that simple. David Clifford advanced from minor to senior level very quickly, but he is a special talent.
It will be a much slower process for others and in the meantime, Keane will be under massive pressure, just as all his predecessors were.
That the county board have opted for a lower-profile figure underlines the respect in which Keane is held. Of course, it’s not the first time they have opted for this policy, having appointed Jack O’Connor, the then U-21 manager after Páidí O Sé’s departure.
They held their nerve when Kerry lost the 2003 U-21 Munster final to Waterford and opted for O’Connor, who led them to All-Ireland senior glory a year later. The field was more open then, unlike now when a giant blue beast is in control.
Fitzmaurice’s exited after six years so presumably there will be a sizeable tactical and philosophical shift under Keane. Ultimately though, it comes down to this: his stewardship will be judged in Kerry on whether he delivers All-Ireland titles, preferably making a start next year. There will be no honeymoon period.
Horan’s brief in Mayo is exactly the same. They have long since passed the stage where being consistently competitive and flirting with All-Ireland success are regarded as satisfactory.
That was OK in the opening two years (2011-2012) of his first coming, but now it’s all about ending the All-Ireland drought. He has been handed a four-year term, but in reality that means very little.
Long-term plans are fine, but when a county has gone as long as Mayo without an All-Ireland win and endured so many big-day disappointments, it’s all about the immediate future.
It will be interesting to see the extent of the shake-up Horan undertakes. There’s still a view in Mayo that the current squad can win an All-Ireland but if they haven’t done it over the past six years, why should it be any different in 2019?
Horan was popular with the players in his first term as their careers intertwined with his in a mixture that enabled them to dominate Connacht and come close to winning an All-Ireland title.
Five years after his departure – as it will be in 2019 – they may have a different mindset, having had two managements in the intervening period.
Horan has hard calls to make in a squad where the turnover remained remarkably small over several years.
Whether that was due to a lack of competition or a belief that the existing squad would deliver the big breakthrough is a moot point, but either way it leaves Horan with big decisions.
Loyalty is laudable but ruthlessness wins more titles.