Mayo legend Liam McHale has said that the reason he left the Mayo senior football management team at the end of this season was because he ‘didn’t want to drag anybody down.’
In a wide-ranging interview with Tara Doherty on Ballina Community Radio, McHale said that his philosophy on how the Mayo team should play wasn’t in line with that of his counterparts on the management team.
McHale, a legendary footballer and basketballer in his hometown of Ballina, says that he has utmost admiration for the Mayo senior football team and placed huge valued in getting the chance to work with them.
But given that he was ‘so far removed’ from the management’s line of thinking, he felt that he had to step away.
“I really enjoyed getting to know the boys,” said the 58-year-old former All-Star.
“It was great. Because I wouldn’t have known most of the senior lads. I would have known Conor Loftus from coaching him in basketball.
“I would have known Kevin McLoughlin from meeting him around the place. But I would never really have had a chat with Aidan or Cillian or Diarmuid or Jason.
“I would have known Stephen Coen believe it or not because he was a lifeguard when he was 18 years of age!
“So I was happy I went in and got to know the boys. I’d like to think any of them could feel they can give me a call if they wanted advice or if they wanted to meet up for a coffee.
“I’d always be there for them; I know what they are at and I know what they’re going through, the older fellas,” he says.
McHale is a brother-in-law of Mayo manager Kevin McStay and won a Connacht title alongside him managing Roscommon. They also won an All-Ireland club title with St Brigid’s in 2013 but it didn’t click quite as well this time around.
“It is difficult,” said McHale.
“There were five of us there and the four lads had a totally different philosophy on how this team should play than what I had.
“And I was surprised at Kevin because normally we would be in sync.
“But I just felt that there is no point in me being there when I am so far removed from their thinking.
“I didn’t want to drag anybody down. I didn’t want to upset the flow of the whole thing. I thought it was the right thing to do.”
“All we want to see as Mayo people is the likes of Aidan O’Shea and Cillian O’Connor lifting that Sam Maguire over their heads.”
Doherty asked McHale the question on every Mayo person’s lips. Why
“The great full back Peter Forde asked me how can the basketball team win the National title with what ye’ve got, and we can’t.
“The only answer I could give him is it’s much easier to get ten players on the same page as it is 30/35. I think pretty much, in all the tight games, we lose them in the last ten minutes.
“That goes back to my time. In the last ten minutes, we’re not able to score and the opposition would score two or three points to get themselves over the line.”
Listen to the full interview here.
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