Rochford relaxed in his understudy role

After three years at Corofin, leading the Galway club to the All-Ireland senior title in 2015, Stephen Rochford took one of the biggest jobs in Gaelic football. No trophies arrived during his term as manager of his native Mayo's senior footballer, but he arguably got them closer than any other manager since 1951 to the Holy Grail, losing to Dublin in the 2016 All-Ireland final after a replay and beaten by Dean Rock’s late free in the 2017 final.

After leaving the role in 2018, the Crossmolina man was involved in the Donegal setup but is now back with his own Green and Red, this time as assistant to Kevin McStay.

“It’s all showing in my hair! It's what you like, it's what you enjoy. What has Mickey Harte done? 20, 30 maybe years between minors and Errigal Ciaran and that. I don't think it's done him any harm,” Stephen Rochford said at last Friday’s launch of the 2025 Connacht SFC at the Centre of Excellence in Bekan.

But is taking a more backseat role lessening the pressure and making everything more enjoyable?

“I don't think so. Obviously, you're not the front face and you don't have to stand in front of the likes of the media or that. But I think once you're invested in a group, you hurt the same in defeat, you enjoy the games as much in victory.

“But we understand though that a lot of work goes into those games, whether the result goes your way or not. It's certainly no less pressure and you don't enjoy it any less not being the manager either.

“Is it more enjoyable? I wouldn't say that either. There's elements to it that you don't have to do as the manager. There’s sort of some less headaches, if that's a better way of describing it.

“The role of the manager and coach or assistant manager, they have they some different elements. I enjoyed both roles, the experience in Donegal. It's no less pressure and it's no more pressure. We're all in it, we're all invested in the same way, and we all want the best for the team.” 

The format of the championship, as well as the playing rules, has changed since Stephen Rochford was manager of Mayo. Instead of the memorable journeys through the backdoor system, there is a group stage and a potential preliminary quarter-final, which Mayo know about all too well, before a quarter-final.

The Crossmolina native believes the new format gives more clarity to Mayo’s path ahead, as they will be in the group stage for the All-Ireland series regardless of the result against Sligo this Sunday.

“You know when you're playing Connacht championship and you know when the group stages are happening. The back door and all that, you know, doesn't give you any sense of certainty.

“We're very focused on the Connacht championship but that certainty is there; we know we're going to be in the group stage regardless of what happens in Connacht. But you want to be looking then to top your group obviously coming out, because that creates another bit of certainty. So that element is, in some ways, better now.” 

Mayo will be wary of the challenge of Sligo in MacHale Park next Sunday. In 2019, 2022 and 2023, Mayo exited the Connacht championship after appearing in the National League final, the latter occasion seeing them lose to Roscommon a week after beating Galway in Croke Park. This time, Mayo are coming in off the back off a disappointing final defeat to Kerry last Sunday and Rochford, who was speaking three days in advance of that game, knows Sligo are more than capable of launching an ambush having been within seconds of beating Galway last year.

“It was the first time I think that a national final and the first round of the championship were put in bed nearly together. We know what that is. Nobody's telling us at 6 o'clock on Sunday as a surprise that you're playing championship the following week. We're well aware of it.

“We've had probably a quarter of an eye on this Sligo game. But we haven't been able to do much more than that because of the nature of what Division 1 is. Now you find yourself with another game. There's obviously pros and benefits to that.

“[Sligo] probably had a similar start to the league. I think their performance against Offaly in the first game probably wasn’t fully reflective in the margin of loss. I think they were quite competitive up until the final quarter, and you see where Offaly have gone over the last number of weeks.

“But their form is very, very solid, four results on the bounce. A big one against Clare obviously, big one against Antrim and probably against Fermanagh, I'd say they probably feel they left a point behind. I think they were six or seven points up in that, so we're acutely aware of the threats and the quality that are in that Sligo group.

“Coolera-Strandhill’s push in the club championship is another indicator of where Sligo are, and their under 20s over the last couple of years. All of that and then moments away from beating Galway last year, we're not blind to the challenge that will be in front of us.” 

Should Mayo defeat Sligo and go on to win a first Nestor Cup on home soil since 2014, would it be even sweeter for Rochford given a Connacht title eluded him as manager?

“I wouldn't say that's the sole motivation, but when you're involved in any team you take every competition on its own merits. We were in a Connacht final last year, we would have felt that we put ourselves in a really good position to have won that game. That didn't materialise, but we go into this year's championship with a focus on beating Sligo and hopefully getting to the semi-final. If that leads to a Connacht final or something we'll prepare for that.

“The competitiveness element of the different competitions allows you not to get too ahead of yourself and in that regard, personal motivation doesn't get ahead of what's needed for the group and what's needed for the group is a focus on Sligo.

“We've probably had that 25 percent this week, 75 percent on the [Kerry] game, but we're obviously looking forward to the kind of championship also.”