Ballina Town
Manager: Michael McNicholas
Last Season: Third
Home Ground: Belleek Park
Things never got going for Ballina Town last season, they finished in third place but were out of the title race well before the season entered the home-stretch. Michael McNicholas is back in charge of the side and he will be hoping that they can get off to a good start to make sure they are there or thereabouts later in the season.
Ballyglass
Manager: TC Connolly
Last Season: Second (Premier A )
Home Ground: Michael Keavney Park
Ballyglass came back up last year after finishing second to Conn Rangers in a hard fought Premier A division that saw four points separating the top four teams. Consolidation in the top flight will be their main priority this season. Former Westport United and Ballinrobe Town striker JP O’Gorman will be the man they will be looking to for the goals to keep them up.
Ballyheane
Manager: Noel Tuffy
Last Season: Fourth
Home Ground: Pat Quigley Park
Last season only ended a couple of weeks ago for Ballyheane when they exited the Connacht Junior Cup away to Mervue United. Last year’s fourth placed finish was a bit of a regression for a team that went the entire previous season unbeaten in the league. Ballyheane have a solid squad of veterans with a number of younger faces looking to push on and challenge the top three.
Castlebar Celtic
Manager: Stevie Gavin
Last Season: Second
Home Ground: Celtic Park
Celtic are a bit of an unknown quantity this year, they have a number of good young players making the step up, but will they be able to challenge Westport United is the big question. The Hoops will expect to be challenging at the top and Stevie Gavin will be hoping they can close the 13 point gap between them and the champions at the end of last season.
Charlestown Athletic
Manager: TBC
Last Season: Eighth
Home Ground: Bellaghy Park
The east Mayo men had a solid season last year in the Super League where they picked up five wins and three draws. They will have to hit similar heights if they are to avoid a relegation battle going into the home straight. They made a great start last season to the league and will be hoping to do the same this time out.
Conn Rangers
Manager: Brian McDonnell
Last Season: First (Premier A )
Home Ground: Mount Falcon
Mount Falcon will be hosting top division football for the first time in a number of years this season. Last year they won the Premier A title after a tough battle by themselves, Ballyglass, and Westport United B. Staying up is their first priority and a good start will be half the battle.
Iorras Aontaithe
Manager: Martin McIntyre
Last Season: Seventh
Home Ground: Carne Nash
For a long, long, time last season it looked like the men from Erris were going to drop out of the top division. But a fantastic run of form over the last few weeks saw them stay up and finish in second place. Making sure they do not have a similar start to the season is first thing they will have to do this year, and they could finish comfortably in mid-table at least if they do.
Manulla
Manager: Tom Healy
Last Season: Fifth
Home Ground: Carramore
Last season is still going for the Carramore men, they are in action in the Connacht Junior Cup on Sunday against Corrib Celtic so they will not be in action in the league this weekend. They also had a good run over the winter in the Mayo Sevens which should have them nicely ticking over when they kick off in the Mayo League.
Straide and Foxford United
Manager: John O’Hara/Chris Downey
Last Season: Sixth
Home Ground: Green Road
Finishing in sixth place with a record of five wins, five draws, and eight losses was a decent return to the Super League for the tangerine clad men last season. Ensuring that they stay as competitive as they were last year is something the management duo of Christ Downey and John O’Hara will be looking to get right first. In what will probably be a packed mid-table, picking up wins against those around them will be essential.
Westport United
Manager: John Brennan
Last Season: First
Home Ground: The Sports Park
The only thing Westport United can do better this year than they did last, is to win every game. On their way to winning the title by 13 points they dropped points only once when drawing against Straide and Foxford United. They have a new face in the dugout with John Brennan taking over from Kiearn Mulchrone and James Fahy, even with the change-over and all that comes with it, United still have the class to dominate the division.
