Oisin McConville: “I think Ray Dempsey would have been a better choice for Mayo, genuinely”

“I think he would have been a good fit for them."

It may have taken a while, but Mayo finally announced that Kevin McStay will become the new county manager following the resignation of James Horan. McStay enjoyed a successful period with Roscommon and put his money where his mouth is in the sense that he went from media into management, back to media, and now back in the frying pan of management once more. The competition for the job was fierce and for a while, it appeared as though Ray Dempsey could be the next man in line. Part of Dempsey's backroom staff was Oisin McConville, who is now the Wicklow manager following their failed attempt to get the Mayo role. Speaking on the BBC GAA Social podcast alongside Thomas Niblock, McConville believes that the Connacht side made a mistake in their decision. “[McStay] definitely had a strong line up, I’ll give him that. But I think Ray Dempsey would have been a better choice for Mayo, genuinely,” McConville said.

“I found Ray Dempsey very direct, very honest, and I don’t think there’s enough of those people around anymore, especially in management. “I think he would have been a good fit for them because I think that’s exactly what Mayo need. But look, it’s Kevin McStay and he’s got a star-studded backroom team.

“Experienced managers that I’ve spoken to have all [talked about] the importance of keeping it fairly tight. That’s not a tight backroom team that McStay has. It feels a wee bit overloaded, if I’m honest. “Forget about McStay, backroom teams that are hefty in numbers, it’s so difficult to manage them. You’re trying to manage players, but also backroom teams. A lot of the egos can be in backroom teams as opposed to the players on the pitch.”