No All-Ireland but James Horan has raised the bar for everyone in Mayo

TYNAN'S TAKE

In the end, it wasn’t a real surprise. After Mayo limped out of the All-Ireland championship at the hands of Kerry, James Horan stepped down to end his second stint in the biggest job in Mayo football.

He may not have got the one trophy every Mayo person has coveted since 1951 but he has gotten closer than most and raised the county’s expectations to levels not seen in the years prior to his appointment.

Granted, expectations couldn’t have been any lower when he arrived the first time around in 2010. Defeat to Longford left Mayo very much in the doldrums and at that point in time, we were as far away as ever in bringing Sam across the boarder.

Horan’s initial run could have ended before it even began after London gave the mother of frights in his first championship game but once getting past that, the county hasn’t looked back.

His first full year in 2011 ended with a semi-final defeat to Kerry but no matter who you spoke to, whether a Mayo supporter or not, something was different with this Mayo team.

Of course, there was a gifted bunch of players at his disposal, either coming through the ranks or in their prime: Andy Moran, Alan Dillon, Cillian O’Connor, Aidan O’Shea, Seamus O’Shea, Donal Vaughan, Jason Doherty, Kevin McLoughlin and Lee Keegan to name but a few.

Yet many of the aforementioned players were there for that defeat to Longford; talented no doubt, but something was missing. Horan found a way to bring it all together and so began the journey of a lifetime for Mayo supporters.

The following year saw Mayo slay Dublin in the All-Ireland semi-final but Horan’s first go in a final ended in defeat to Donegal. Two Donegal goals early doors left Mayo too big of a mountain to climb, but the way they performed for long periods in that final gave real hope that we’d be back in Croke Park sooner rather than later.

There were some major highs in that first run. The hammerings of Galway and Donegal in 2013 will be talked about and remembered for years to come. But Sam still remained elusive. Defeat to Dublin in the final later that year and once again to Kerry in the 2014 semi-final replay ended Horan’s reign.

But the groundwork was laid. The duo of Pat Holmes and Noel Connelly, as well as a term under Stephen Rochford, saw Mayo continue the good work that Horan put in place yet the ultimate prize remained agonisingly out of reach.

When Horan came back for another go in 2019, Mayo finally won a national title in the shape of the National League within a few months of his re-appointment. But deep down, it was clear that a rebuild job would be needed with a number of players, including Andy Moran, Ger Cafferkey, Colm Boyle, Tom Parsons, David Clarke and Chris Barrett reaching their natural end.

This, I feel, is one of Horan’s biggest accomplishments, in particular with the challenges that Covid laid down: to build one capable team to another without any real loss of momentum.

The 2020 final came too soon for the likes of Tommy Conroy, Oisin Mullin, Ryan O’Donoghue, Eoghan McLaughlin and Jordan Flynn but after finally taking down the seemingly unstoppable Dubs last year, everything appeared to have fallen into place for Horan and his new side to claim the one trophy we all craved.

What followed was the moment that many turned on Horan. Defeat to Tyrone in the final left Mayo supporters with feelings of anger and frustration that the manager had never encountered before and, in hindsight, that was the beginning of the end.

A hammering in the league final to Kerry and then their championship ending a few months later to the very same outfit. It was a matter of when, not if, Horan would leave and 24 hours after doing so, his second term was over.

Who comes in next is anyone’s guess. Ray Dempsey, Mike Solan, Sean Deane, Stephen Rochford are possible candidates in house. Will the county board look outside Mayo and go for someone like Malachy O’Rourke, Pat Gilroy or even Jim McGuinness?

Time will tell. But whoever comes into the job will have all the tools at his disposal to finally get a Mayo team over the line, many of which were made under Horan’s two terms.

For all the silverware that arrived under Horan’s tenure, that may be his greatest achievement.