James Horan rounded on Cork for comments made by the management team in the lead up to the All-Ireland quarterfinal.

Bring on the Kingdom

Mayo manager James Horan has revealed he is relishing a crack at bogey side Kerry in the All-Ireland SFC semi-final at Croke Park on August 24 even though his charges are not firing on all cylinders.

After rounding on Cork manager Brian Cuthbert for questioning the character of his players on the lead-up to last Sunday’s nailbitting one-point quarterfinal triumph at Croke Park, Horan insisted his team will be more than ready for the challenge of the Kingdom in three weeks' time.

He stated: “There is no pressure on us. We are taking every game as it comes and (we'll) see where it takes us. While we have not played all that well at times, we’ve always been able to find something extra when we need it.

“There is more work to be done over the coming weeks and our supporters can rest assured that it will be done. We are really looking forward to meeting Kerry now.”

Horan refused to shake hands with Cuthbert after Sunday’s victory in protest at Cork selector Ronan McCarthy accusing Mayo forwards Cillian O’Connor and Kevin McLoughlin of being ‘very good at tactical fouling’. McCarthy also descrived Mayo as ‘streetwise’, a remark Horan interpreprated as derogarory.

He hit out: “I think it is unprecedented in Gaelic football to hear a management team name players from an opposing team. As far as I’m concerned, they questioned the integrity of two of my players as well as my team, in general terms.

“It’s disgraceful and they should be ashamed of what they have done. We coach and we try and play as well as we can all the time within the rules of the game. For Cork to come out and say what they said is just not good enough at this level.”

Horan’s hard-hitting remarks clearly point to the creation of a siege mentality within the Mayo camp at a vital stage of the campaign.