MAYO BOSS JAMES Horan has denied claims that he has had a falling out with coach Donie Buckley amidst reports that the Kerry native had been absent from training sessions in the build-up to their Connacht opener against New York.
The suggestion of a rift between Horan and Buckley had been raised by a journalist in the ‘Connaught Telegraph’ newspaper but in an interview with another local paper in the county – ‘The Western People’ – Horan hit back at those claims.
“It’s mind-boggling really. If this reporter bothered to go to any of our sessions, he’d know that because of our geography, it doesn’t make sense to bring eight or nine Dublin-based players down every Tuesday.
“So we split the sessions and we alternate who takes the sessions. On that particular night, Donie was taking the Dublin session and I was taking the session in Claremorris. The information published in his article was disgraceful.
“That article was published the week before we played our first championship match. It didn’t impact our preparation at all, but it did create a fuss around the team from some of the public, which is far from ideal.”
Advertisement
Buckley first linked up with the Mayo back room team last season as a coach and has been elevated to the role of a selector for this year after James Nallen’s departure.
Stubborn
Horan has also refuted claims that he is stubborn and dictatorial in his approach as Mayo manager.
“I don’t know how any modern-day manager could be stubborn or dictatorial because of the big support team that needs to work so closely in tandem to run an inter-county team. That day of one-man ruling with an iron fist is gone.
“Managing highly educated, motivated young athletes that are all keen to learn requires a team of people working together.”
Mayo ran out 4-18 to 0-8 winners over New York in Gaelic Park. Andy Marlin / INPHO
Andy Marlin / INPHO / INPHO
The Mayo manager also defended his players’ absence from a player fundraiser in New York and insisted that it had been well-flagged that they would be focusing on their preparations for their provincial opener.
Mayo supporters are said to have been left irate after the team were not present at an event at the Dunwoodie Golf Club in Yonkers two days before Mayo convincingly defeated New York.
“We’re very disappointed to hear that the team and management are said not to have fulfilled any of our duties in New York because nothing could be further from the truth.
“Under no circumstances would we want to insult any of our fans. We did a lot of engagements in New York. As soon as we arrived we went straight out to a National School and spent some time there; we were at the Irish Consulate on Friday morning; we were at an event on Sunday night and spent time with the fans after the match.
Mayo fans flocked to Gaelic Park. Andy Marlin / INPHO
Andy Marlin / INPHO / INPHO
“There was a fundraiser organised by the county board on the Friday night. It had been discussed on numerous occasions and it was made very clear that the Mayo team would not go to any fundraiser before the match.
“We had a long flight; we had a training session that night and the players needed to get back to the hotel. We wouldn’t have a fundraiser if we were playing Roscommon or Galway, so why would we have one before we played New York? This was a championship match we were preparing for.”
Horan is set to meet with Mayo county board officials to discuss the matter.
Claims of trouble in the Mayo management camp are 'mind-boggling' says James Horan
MAYO BOSS JAMES Horan has denied claims that he has had a falling out with coach Donie Buckley amidst reports that the Kerry native had been absent from training sessions in the build-up to their Connacht opener against New York.
The suggestion of a rift between Horan and Buckley had been raised by a journalist in the ‘Connaught Telegraph’ newspaper but in an interview with another local paper in the county – ‘The Western People’ – Horan hit back at those claims.
“It’s mind-boggling really. If this reporter bothered to go to any of our sessions, he’d know that because of our geography, it doesn’t make sense to bring eight or nine Dublin-based players down every Tuesday.
“So we split the sessions and we alternate who takes the sessions. On that particular night, Donie was taking the Dublin session and I was taking the session in Claremorris. The information published in his article was disgraceful.
“That article was published the week before we played our first championship match. It didn’t impact our preparation at all, but it did create a fuss around the team from some of the public, which is far from ideal.”
Buckley first linked up with the Mayo back room team last season as a coach and has been elevated to the role of a selector for this year after James Nallen’s departure.
Stubborn
Horan has also refuted claims that he is stubborn and dictatorial in his approach as Mayo manager.
“I don’t know how any modern-day manager could be stubborn or dictatorial because of the big support team that needs to work so closely in tandem to run an inter-county team. That day of one-man ruling with an iron fist is gone.
“Managing highly educated, motivated young athletes that are all keen to learn requires a team of people working together.”
The Mayo manager also defended his players’ absence from a player fundraiser in New York and insisted that it had been well-flagged that they would be focusing on their preparations for their provincial opener.
Mayo supporters are said to have been left irate after the team were not present at an event at the Dunwoodie Golf Club in Yonkers two days before Mayo convincingly defeated New York.
“We’re very disappointed to hear that the team and management are said not to have fulfilled any of our duties in New York because nothing could be further from the truth.
“Under no circumstances would we want to insult any of our fans. We did a lot of engagements in New York. As soon as we arrived we went straight out to a National School and spent some time there; we were at the Irish Consulate on Friday morning; we were at an event on Sunday night and spent time with the fans after the match.
“There was a fundraiser organised by the county board on the Friday night. It had been discussed on numerous occasions and it was made very clear that the Mayo team would not go to any fundraiser before the match.
“We had a long flight; we had a training session that night and the players needed to get back to the hotel. We wouldn’t have a fundraiser if we were playing Roscommon or Galway, so why would we have one before we played New York? This was a championship match we were preparing for.”
Horan is set to meet with Mayo county board officials to discuss the matter.
Jim White in Cillian O’Connor pronunciation fail as Mayo New York gets Sky Sports treatment
Here’s the 12 live GAA matches that RTÉ will be televising in May and June
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Donie Buckley GAA Getting Along Hitting back James Horan Manager Mayo