Mortimer’s sights on senior success

BY his own admission, it hasn’t been a bad year to date for Conor Mortimer. Playing a key role in DCU’s first ever success in the Sigerson Cup competition helped enhance his career as a Mayo footballer. It also gave him the feeling of what it’s like to win a national competition.

A few weeks ago, Mayo celebrated an overdue victory in the All-Ireland U21 championship, but success at senior level continues to elude the county.

Mayo are high in the list of under-achievers at the top level.

John O’Mahony and John Maughan both came close to winning the Sam Maguire Cup as managers after injuries cut short their careers, and Maughan lost out a second time two years ago (to Kerry) before finally calling it a day last season and moving on to Roscommon.

Clearly, he was frustrated, but accepted he had taken the team as far as he possibly could.

Now, the much-travelled Mickey Moran is at the helm, once more supported by Armagh man John Morrison, with both of them recently admonished by Peter Ford for criticism of Galway’s football style following their victory in the Allianz League semi-final in Castlebar.

Conor Mortimer, one of the more established members of the Mayo attack, doesn’t admit to frustration. At 23, he knows he has ‘a few more years on the road.’ Nevertheless, he shares the same feelings of disappointment as anyone else in Mayo that national success has proved so elusive.

Winning Connacht medals ‘is all well and good’, but no way does it represent the limit of their ambitions. “Mayo need to start performing,’’ he says. “We have to win the All-Ireland. It’s as simple as that. That’s the ultimate goal.

“If we don’t, it will be another unsuccessful year. In years to come, we don’t want to be looking back with a lot of regrets!”

The squad welcomed the change of management, says Mortimer. The time was opportune.

“I wouldn’t say it’s fresher as such but the approach is different. Like any new management, they wanted to put down an early marker and they have a proven pedigree. We have a good bunch of players; we just needed a change. And Mickey is very good, no doubt about it,’’ he added.

Mortimer says that he’s especially enthusiastic about facing into this campaign, which starts against London in Ruislip on Sunday. An injury earlier in the year kept him inactive. It also made him realise how much he missed being involved, how he tended to take if for granted.

His brother Trevor, along with David Brady and Ciaran McDonald were also notable absentees for the League campaign. Still, Mayo were unbeaten after five games, until they ran up against a highly motivated Dublin in Parnell Park – and lost, according to Conor, because they gifted the home side goals.

On the credit side, the experience was helpful, as was their next outing against Tyrone.

However, the biggest regret of the year to date was the loss at home to Galway in the semi-final. For himself and Trevor, living on the border between the two counties, there’s always that ‘extra bit of spice’ associated with their games, especially in championship football.

“The wheels kind of turned in the games against Dublin and Tyrone, whereas we didn’t perform against Galway. We were disappointed not so much that we lost the semi-final but that we lost to it Galway. For a number of our players, it was their first big game against them.’’

Mortimer understands why people would again start asking questions about Mayo.

He responds by pointing out that any game against their near neighbours is going to be tough, but on this occasion they were well below full strength.

If any positive was to be taken from the game it was that Mayo would have the greater incentive to win if, as seems probable, the counties clash in the Connacht final. On the other hand, he accepts that Galway would be more confident of repeating their success.

Firstly, however, they have to get over London and while people might be asking questions about how Mayo would fare against Leitrim in the semi-final in Carrick-on-Shannon, he insists that they are not ‘looking beyond’ this weekend’s game.

“You never say never. In this day and age you never know. Who knows what London are like?”