Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Kee move gives boss a problem
MAYO boss Stephen Rochford admits Lee Keegan’s return to full fitness gives him a selection dilemma ahead of the All-ireland semi-final against Kerry.
While there’s no doubt that the Footballer of the Year will reclaim his starting spot tomorrow week, it’s not entirely obvious who’ll miss out after a five star display against Roscommon.
Rochford confirmed that he will have a fully fit squad to pick from with Keegan set to return to full training tomorrow after a foot infection ruled him out of the quarter-final replay.
He said: “Look, there’s always a challenge thankfully in selecting what people might reference as being the right team.
“But, look, Lee gives us more options and when we looked at the team prior to the game the last day, we had that conundrum too.
“But we got a really solid performance from the 14 outfield players the last day – and of course David [Clarke] as well. So it’s a good headache.”
Rochford has no qualms with Laois whistler Maurice Deegan being appointed to referee the game.
When the counties last met in the Championship in the 2014 All-ireland semifinal replay, Cormac Reilly’s handling of it drew the ire of the Mayo support.
Rochford is also satisfied the Croke Park surface is improving after criticism in the wake of the U2 concert at the venue.
“At times fellas looked to change direction very quickly – that has proven a little bit of a challenge.
“I didn’t think it was as much an issue last week, and maybe that’s just allowing grass to bed in.”