Big rebuild on the cards for next Mayo manager

There are many things you could give outgoing Mayo Oscar Traynor manager Joe Kelly serious credit for. Reaching a first national final since 1981 is up there, navigating last year’s ugly Ballyheane situation with a great sense of diplomacy and respect is there too.

But when you see the bust-ups that take place both between the white lines of the playing pitch and in the wild wilderness of the Facebook comments section, it is incredible that Kelly got a team predominantly made up of Westport United and Castlebar Celtic players to co-exist in such spectacular footballing harmony.

You could have expected more amity between a nest of snakes and a delegation of mongooses, and I will let the reader decide who is what creature in this comparison, but however he managed it, Kelly did it and it was for the benefit of the county.

The positive relationships already formed there will be of great benefit to the next Mayo Oscar Traynor manager whoever they may be, because, say it quietly, they have an enormous rebuild on their hands.

There are sure to be question marks surrounding the elder statesmen of the group and whether or not they will commit to another winter of Oscar Traynor football. It is a hard graft coming into winter, especially with the Mayo League having wrapped up at the end of July and coming in some weeks later, it is effectively like pre-season training.

Cillian McGlade (36), Ioseph O’Reilly (36), Darren Browne (32), Andrew Shally (32) and Benny Lavelle (35) are among this cohort and losing any of them for the 2025/26 campaign would be a blow for an incoming manager.

Kiltimagh/Knock United pulled out of the Mayo Football League earlier this year and had four players in and around the previous Oscar Traynor squad. Jack O’Connor hasn’t played since the last Oscar Traynor and played no part in his club’s ill-fated season while Mayo’s backup goalkeeper Micheál Schlingermann also had limited appearances for KKU last season. Dan Duffy and Cormac Caulfield will not be returning either; both men have joined up with Galway Hibs and to make matters worse from a Mayo perspective, they have been joined by Ballina Town’s Jamie Cawley. Westport United’s Adam Nugent has linked up with Moyne Villa, incidentally managed by Joe Kelly. Cathal Coyne has also left Castlebar Celtic to join Salthill Devon.

There is a trio of his former Celtic teammates currently on the sidelines and are expected to miss at least the group stages of the competition. Mayo will be a lesser outfit without Niall Brennan (cruciate injury), Jason Hunt (ribs) and Oran Groarke (fractured foot) and they are exceptionally difficult to replace.

Then of course, there is the situation with Ballyheane. As part of the club’s punishment, the three players concerned with the fallout, Ben Edeh, Nathan Reilly Doyle and Michael Fahy, are not permitted to play for the county’s Oscar Traynor team for the next two years.

By any man’s count, that is eighteen players in total who are either unavailable or whom there may be lingering doubts over.

A 24-man squad was named at the end of last September and while there was some chopping and changes throughout the year, the remaining 10 names from the original squad are as follows: Stefan Hester, Jordan Loftus, Johnny Cocozza, Mark Cunningham (Castlebar Celtic), Adam Gallagher (Conn Rangers), Owen McHale (Iorras Aontaithe), Connor McCarthy (Glenhest Rovers), James Robinson, Harrison Quinn, Kevin Kitterick (Westport United).

Cillian White from Westport joined up later in the campaign and that makes eleven players – hey, that’s enough for a starting team! But if you were to break it down positionally, that is two goalkeepers, three defenders, two midfielders and four forwards/wingers. Stefan Hester and James Robinson can flip a coin to see who goes in goal and who gets lumped in at full-back.

This puts it into perspective just how great the body of work facing the new Mayo Oscar Traynor manager is in terms of a rebuild.

Oscar options 

It is not all doom and gloom for the new manager however. I think you can expect a couple of the elder statesmen to return and pair that with a few of those injuries clearing up, they will get a few names back in the squad.

The Mayo League is packed with talented players and starting from the Super League, there is a whole host of names that could be in contention. A standout option for me would be former League of Ireland footballer Ryan Connolly, who was a regular fixture for his club once more as Ballyglass earned promotion back to the top tier. If my CV were to make it past the Mayo League’s email spam folder, that would be the first call I would make.

A lot of Celtic’s team have got a look in for Mayo by now but not Dylan Edwards and Brian Walsh, who would both go straight into the starting XI. Golden Boot winner Luke Kelly would be worth a look at, even if forwards are in abundance, definitely as an impact sub if not a direct starter.

From Westport, there would be the likes of Mikey O’Brien, Noah Massey, Cian Halpin and Dylan O’Malley to call upon. Caoimhin O’Toole would be an interesting midfield option and Mark McDonagh, who captained the club’s ‘B’ team to a brilliant season, would be a very solid choice at left-back.

Glenhest Rovers had a terrific season and the likes of Levi Barrett, Adrian Rowland and Paddy Mulchrone would be worth a look, to see if they can carry last season’s form into the Oscar Traynor competition.

Dylan McKee from Ballina Town is an obvious option, having missed last year’s tournament and PJ Gilmartin would be another good option, along with Oisin Tighe. If you wanted a more experienced option among the goalkeepers, Emmet Peyton would be worth a shout.

Conn Rangers have a host of players who could join Adam Gallagher in the squad including Evan Reape, Sam Barnes and Michael Lavin.

Whether or not there is still a bridge to be mended between Ballyheane and the Oscar Traynor squad remains to be seen, but if there is a chance to bring Adam Blake into the squad, it should be taken. Cillian Redmond’s ongoing road to recovery from a lengthy injury should also end up with him in the Oscar Traynor squad.

With Schlingermann likely to miss out, Ballinrobe Town could offer up two goalkeeping options. Sean Shaughnessy should have made the OT squad before now in my opinion and they have also brought in Conall Doran, formerly of Kerry FC and Galway United. Calvin Joyce of Claremorris is another solid defensive option and his teammate Jason Murphy was a standout performer in midfield last season. Ballyglass looked very impressive coming up from last season and in addition to Ryan Connolly, Dean O’Malley would be another versatile option.

Looking at the lower divisions, I would keep players like Aidan Dunleavy from Swinford, Eoin Morris from Snugboro and James O’Hara from Achill Rovers in mind. Dunleavy and Morris have played in the Super League down through the years and O’Hara looks a brilliant prospect for Achill.

There’s 30 options for the incoming Oscar Traynor manager, who will have their own ideas about the players available out there. Broken down positionally, there are three goalkeepers, eleven defenders, eight midfielders and eight forwards/wingers.

As massive as the task seems, it is also a great opportunity for an incoming manager to shape the Mayo team in their own image. David Moyes would have loved a blank canvas to fill in with the likes of Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka when he took over from Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United but had to settle for an aging team of winners he could never relate to.

There are plenty of excellent players to choose from out there in Mayo but with the Oscar Traynor competition now allowing just one team out of the group stage, it is important to get it right.

It is a job no one would envy, whatever way you slice it.