Tomorrow afternoon will see Mayo's championship season throw in when they travel to Markievicz Park to take on Sligo, and it will be a different looking Mayo side going into championship action than the one we are used to seeing over the past decade.
Along with the retirees who stepped away after last year's All Ireland final, Mayo will also be going into it without the championship's record-scorer, Cillian O'Connor.
The insights and knowledge that have been passed down to the newer members of the squad, by those who have departed and those who still remain, has been a huge part in the rapid development of the newest crop of players, according to James Horan.
The Mayo manager was speaking this week at the launch of Eirgrid as the official timing partner to the GAA, where he said: "I think, we’ve huge development of a number of young players in a a very quick time, so I’m delighted with that.
"When the players came in they very quickly picked it up and they had the experienced guys there, particularly last year - that showed them the ropes and it was brilliant by the older guys, how they did really mentor, I suppose, the younger guys that came in and passed on their knowledge and experience and really made them feel welcome.
"That definitely speeded up their development, we got a great kick off that, particularly last year and this year. So some of the younger guys who came in last year and didn’t necessarily play are pushing hard this year, so I am delighted with that aspect and the amount of options that we have - so that is very good.
"There is a natural process that happened with the guys that retired in December and January, brilliant servants that had given a huge amount of their time and life to Mayo GAA and were brilliant right up to the end, amazing guys really; so yah look the team goes on, life goes on and as I said, we are very happy where we are and how things are progressing. We’re a little rough around the edges on some things but definitely trying to get better at those, but we are excited about the season ahead."
Making the step up from club or underage player to senior inter-county level is no easy task, he added: "There is a lot of really good players in Mayo at club level and when they come into inter-county, you’re not really sure of how they will take, but they took to it so well, I was delighted with how some of them took to it and as I said, how the older guys interpreted that.
"We’d be an ambitions group, we look to progress and play, we try everything we can to get better and sometimes there are ups and downs in all that - we are ambitious and are looking forward to the season ahead and would feel we are competitive with whoever we play, so it is not a surprise to get so many young players that developed so quickly, it was definitely a pleasant surprise."
As for the preparation that players have put in now at underage level and with their clubs being at a much higher level than in the past, before they step up to senior inter-county level, Horan said: "It’s all part of it, some of the guys need to be in the background in the inter-county level for a few years to get up to it. Inter-county football is hard - the levels and understanding of conditioning, hydration and nutrition point of view are starting earlier as well; that definitely will have an impact with some of the guys for sure.
"There is a certain level of conditioning at inter-county level that you need before you can be in with a chance, that helps - but I’ll emphasis how much knowledge sharing there was with the senior guys last year and how welcoming they were to the young guys – which definitely gave the young guys confidence and belief and helped them accelerate their development."
