1996/99
For up to date news visit the Connaught Telegraph website.
MAYO BOSS MOVES SWIFTLY TO FILL SELECTOR VACANCY. . .
GAA
15 October 1997
Former ace Lavin gets the call
By Tom Kelly
Eugene Lavin, former goalkeeping supremo, is being lined up as a selector to the Mayo senior football team to replace Peter Forde who has stepped down because of personal reasons.
The Kiltimagh -based carpenter has been asked by Mayo boss John Maughan to fill the vacancy left by Forde's shock resignation.
Lavin, who starred with Mayo during the seventies and eighties, has worked as a coach with current Mayo custodian, Peter Burke, his nephew.
Martin Carney is also poised to join the Mayo set-up in an advisory capacity.
Carney, who has signed a new contract with RTE as a match analyst, will work closely with the Mayo forwards with the emphasis on greater shooting accuracy.
Forde's decision to step down was accepted with regret by the Mayo management with whom he was held in the highest regard.
The Castlebar -based selector could not give a commitment to work with the team for another year. The job demands almost full-time involvement with training sessions twice a week as well as at weekends, not to mention the constant trips to matches to monitor emerging talent.
Claims of dissention in the Mayo dressingroom before the All-Ireland senior football final were dismissed as 'complete rubbish' by a source close to the team.
The source, who did not wish to be quoted, said he had heard the rumours and they were totally without foundation.
"There is such a tremendous degree of discipline and spirit within the team that it simply does not allow for such breaches before or after matches," he emphasised.
The Mayo players and management team held a special meeting at the weekend which was described as 'very fruitful'.
Manager John Maughan wants his side's opening round Connaught senior football championship game against Galway at Castlebar put back by the number of weeks.
The match is scheduled for Sunday, May 24th, a date which Maughan regarded as 'unfortunate'.
He said: "There is no requirement for the match to be played that early in the championship series. I would like to see it put back to mid-June, and I will be making my views known in due course.
"It is very difficult to keep players going over a long campaign like we had to do in the 1997 campaign. It is a matter I will be looking at seriously over the coming weeks."
An upbeat Maughan said the draw added spice to the forthcoming National League fixtures between the two age-old rival counties.
"I think Mayo and Galway can be regarded as two of the best sides in the country at the moment. I think our match in Tuam early this year was one of the best of the championship."
Mayo's 1998 championship draw against Galway is made all the more fascinating by the fact that John O'Mahony has taken over as Galway boss.
The Ballaghaderreen-based teacher was manager of the Mayo side which reached the All-Ireland final in 1989, and won an All-Ireland under-21 title with Mayo in the seventies.
Stated Maughan: "I think our game against Galway will have a different edge to it this time and the winners will fancy their chances of winning the provincial title."
The winners of the Mayo versus Galway game are away to Roscommon in the penultimate round.
Added the Mayo manager: "I am relishing the challenge and the players are looking forward to getting back playing football. I know we did not do ourselves justice this year, but we are determined to bounce back as soon as possible."
His comments clearly indicated that Maughan's appetite for success was as strong as ever despite the devastating disappointment of losing two consecutive All-Ireland senior football finals.
