Mayo enter Under 20 campaign with attacking intent
Under new manager Keith Higgins, the Mayo Under 20 footballers will commence their Connacht Championship campaign away to Sligo in Tubbercurry next Wednesday, writes Patrick Hennelly.
Former Mayo senior star Higgins has earned some invaluable coaching experience over the last number of years, and the Ballyhaunis club man said he is enjoying his new role.
“It's been different taking on the role as manager,” he outlined. “I suppose it's an eye-opener really, as when I was just coaching over the last couple of years, your thoughts are really just on the player and the sessions – what you want to do, how you want to play. However, when you have the other bib on you have to book pitches, organise food for the players. It's been a huge learning curve for me, I suppose to see everything that goes on, but look, I'm enjoying it so far and it's been very different.
“When Peadar (Gardiner) stepped aside, I initially thought that I wouldn’t go for the job. With me being involved with Peadar’s backroom team, I felt that perhaps it was the time for someone else to have a go.
“However, as the weeks and months passed by, I felt that maybe it was important to have that bit of continuity there as I knew the majority of the group of players who would be coming back again this season and to try and build on that. If I didn’t apply for the job then, this opportunity might never come around again.”
Forwards Darragh Beirne and Kobe McDonald have been major figures for the senior team so far this year and it begs the question if they will be available for the Under 20s on a Wednesday if they play with the seniors the previous weekend?
Higgins explained: “The plan at the moment is that Darragh and Kobe would be available for all the Under 20 games. With the personnel that Andy Moran has in his squad, it was something that was approached very early, and we knew it would be discussed on a kind of a week-by-week basis – whether guys were playing National League or whether they'd be training with us.
“So I'd be chatting to Andy kind of every few days about what the training plan is, and what the training load is for certain guys.”
Higgins certainly has a lot of exciting attacking potential in the forward division. What will be Mayo’s style of play?
“My whole thing with this age group is we don't want to put in a huge amount of structure or being too over-reliant on what kind of tactics we deploy and all that. When you have the likes of Darragh Beirne, Tom Lydon and Oisín Deane, you just want to go and let them play and express themselves. So that's my whole thing with these young guys – just go out and express themselves and show what they can do.
“Obviously, you have to have a small bit of structure in terms of what you want to do defensively and how you want to set up. But when it comes to the attacking style of it, the way the game has gone, there will be times in the game where it is probably that slow attack, and then maybe a more structured attack. But the majority of it, you just want to go and let these guys play and let them express themselves.
“I suppose I'm not the best one to be giving Darragh Beirne tips on how to play as a corner forward, but I suppose I kind of see it from the opposite point of view in terms of what defenders don't want to do. So, you're having the conversation with them around that type of thing and where a defender doesn't want to see a corner forward go or position himself or win the ball. But the main thing is to let them play and express themselves.”
It's the same with Kobe McDonald. Higgins said: “I'm not going to tell Kobe McDonald how he should be operating as a forward. Like I said, no more than Darragh Beirne, he's getting a few bits and pieces from a defender's point of view – what you don't want them doing. But like I said, we've seen the way he (Kobe) plays and it’s a case of less is more when it comes to bogging him down with information and let him go play his football.”
Higgins added that Kobe is just enjoying his football at the moment. “I think we've probably seen that even from the goal against Monaghan, like he wasn't afraid to give that bit of a celebration. You want guys expressing themselves.
“He just loves playing football. He loves being out on the pitch, he loves kicking ball, I suppose, no more than his father before him. He just loved having the ball in his hand and going out and showing what he can do with it.
“I wouldn't say he's a carefree character and I think he takes it very seriously when he needs to as well, but he just seems to be the type of guy who just really loves being on that pitch and really loves playing football.
“Kobe has got so many different attributes. He's a big guy for an 18-year-old and he is very athletic. We've seen him in the club championship last year out in midfield for Crossmolina and winning kick-outs.
“We haven't bogged him down in too much information. He will do the majority of his training with the seniors, no more so than Darragh (Beirne), so he will probably spend the majority of the time with them.”
The manager concluded: “With players like that you don't get them bogged down or stressed, like I said, in terms of tactics or having to be here or having to be there. Look, we just keep it very, very simple in terms of the game plan anyways.”
Mayo's campaign commences next Wednesday (March 18) against hosts Sligo in Kilcoyne Park, Tubbercurry. The throw-in time is 5.15 p.m.