Mayo manager James Horan was in jubilant mood after seeing his team pick up their fourth Connacht title in a row and with it the Ballintubber man still has to taste defeat in the provincial championship since he took charge of the Mayo senior team. “I'm delighted and very proud. Very proud of the achievement as are all the players. Regardless of anything else winning four in a row winning four on the trot beating every team on every occasion is something we are extremely proud of and we're delighted with the victory today” he said after the game.
Horan made a number of changes to his team for Sunday's game from the one that started against Roscommon and despite the win, he said there were still plenty of things for his team to work on ahead of the All Ireland quarter-final in three weeks time. “You always try and change things and tweak things and see does it give you a different outcome. We tried a few things this year. We struggled against Roscommon and we did a lot of things better today. There was a lot of stuff that was a little bit off. We let Galway back into it when we had them by the throat a few times. We've won a Connacht title we're in an All-Ireland quarter-final and we're delighted. But we need to put in a lot of work form now on.”
The positioning of Aidan O'Shea on the forty was a big talking point ahead of the contest, but Horan wasn't surprised the big Breaffy man put in a serious shift for Mayo. “Aidan O'Shea is a very clever player. That's his main attribute. It mightn't always be associated with him but he is a very clever player. He got into the right positions today and pulled what was meant to be a very defensive structure and pulled it asunder a little bit, that was a key for us.”
Lee Keegan is another who impressed in MacHale Park but that was no surprise to Horan. “Lee is a Rolls Royce engine. He just up and down the field. He is a phenomenal player. But as well as athleticism he has great skills on both sides. He is dangerous, he is a really dangerous player.”
As for the team as whole, he was very happy with them and their decision making on the field. “the players are very seasoned players and they play what they see and they make the decisions based on what's in front of them, whether it's a defensive set up or attack. They are getting very comfortable with that.”
