Andy's all about maximising Mayo’s potential and then, what will be will be

Top level Gaelic football is a game of fine margins, with Mayo’s five points win against Cork the biggest margin of all four All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals.

That result – and the preceding one against Meath where Mayo came from the rearview mirror to beat the Royals by three – have been a welcome change to the catalogue of near misses experienced by the Green and Red in recent years, including in this current championship when looking fair contenders to beat Tyrone in Omagh before falling to a two points loss.

That was the margin by which Mayo also lost to Galway in the 2025 Connacht SFC final, which itself was followed by a one point defeat – and championship exit – to Donegal.

The minimum was also the margin when Mayo lost the 2024 Connacht SFC final, again against Galway, while that same year they surrendered leads when held to draws by Dublin and Derry in championship, losing to the latter on penalties and hence exiting the race for Sam Maguire prematurely again.

Andy Moran believes part reason for the team’s near misses was them not doing everything in their power to maximise their potential, which is something he in his first year as manager is working hard to change.

“That's where it is. What that potential is, we don't know yet. I thought they could be a good Croke Park team but I didn't know until that game [against Cork] was over. So it's the same next Saturday: it’s can you maximise what you're doing all the training for. And if you can do that, you've got a chance to win any game of football. And that's what we have went after. And I don't think the boys have done that absolutely to the best of their ability over the last three or four years. That's what we’ve chased,” explained Moran at a gathering with local press last Friday.

The style of the team under the guidance of the Ballaghaderreen man, who took over as manager from Kevin McStay for the 2026 season, is certainly more gung-ho, with just one example being Mayo’s record last year as the country’s lowest scorers of two pointers to highest this year alongside Monaghan.

“I just feel we've got that in our locker, but I think every team has. It’s about giving them the freedom to be not afraid to miss. And the lads went about doing that. You look at some of our boys who scored over the year, they've probably scored as much in the last six months than they've scored for their whole careers. So I think that's a huge positive. It's something that we can really bring forward now and into the future. But it's something we need to get way better at. Are we in the finished article at that? Absolutely not,” said Moran who as a player, truly announced himself at this stage of the championship 20 years ago when sprang from the bench to score a crucial goal against Dublin in a comeback that culminated in a famous match-winning point by Ciaran McDonald, father of current Mayo star Kobe.

“That day in general is a special day,” admitted Andy Moran. “My kids were both watching it on YouTube two days ago. Now, they were looking for Ciaran McDonald, Kobe’s dad; they weren't looking for me. But they were watching us and listening to the craic with the boys in the RTÉ studio and trying to work out what the bloody hell was going on.

“But those are the days you play football for and that was an inspiration, I suppose, for me going on in my career. You're trying to search for that feeling again and you're trying to get there again. But even to play with some of the great players that time, Ciaran, Kevin O'Neill, these guys, they were special moments in themselves.” 

If not favourites among many of the pundits to beat Louth next Saturday, with the Wee County lauded for the nature of their quarter-final heroics against Monaghan that saw them play all but six minutes of the match with a player less, Mayo are the marginal fancy of the bookmakers to advance to this year’s All-Ireland SFC final against the winners of Kerry v Dublin.

Is Andy Moran confident of them doing so?

“I have confidence in our players that they'll do what they say they're about to do,” he states.

“Confidence is just about how does the first five minutes go? How does the first 10 go, where does the first breaking ball go? Like, could Louth have really envisaged that a man would get sent off after six minutes? But do I have confidence that these boys will do what they say they’ll do – that when we come up with a plan, will they go in and try to implement the plan? Absolutely.

“Do I think they're fantastic players? I do. I wouldn't be here if I didn't. But confidence about finishing jobs and semi-finals and all that, I don't kind of go into that. I'm confident that these fellows will execute what they say they'll execute and if they do that, they have a good chance of winning.”