Mayo miss star names for FBD League opener

NEW Mayo manager James Horan will be without some of his most experienced stars as they begin the defence of their FBD Connacht League title next Sunday.

Horan must plan for the trip to Leitrim without the likes of injured quartet Seamus O’Shea (ankle), Donal Vaughan (groin), Liam O’Malley(ankle) and Conor Mortimer (knee ligament) while Alan Dillon, Peadar Gardiner and Tom Parsons are also unavailable due to college football commitments.

Last year’s skipper Trevor Mortimer is likely to miss at least the opening three rounds of the National Football League as he is currently travelling in Asia and the southern hemisphere. Pat Harte is also recovering from a cruciate ligament injury and is set to miss Mayo’s entire NFL campaign.

However, despite the absence of so many familiar faces, the new management team intend to run the rule over approximately 30 players during the next three weeks against Leitrim, GMIT and Roscommon.

“We’re going to keep the panel fairly open until the start of the National League,” explained Horan.

“Our plan is to give each of the players involved at the moment a run during the FBD League. We have the three teams we want to play set out in our heads.

“We know who we want to play and when we want to play them. What we’re looking for really is who can step up on game-day, and how guys can fit into a system.

“A lot of guys will be getting a chance to wear a Mayo jersey for the first time so it will be interesting to see how they respond.”

A handful of players from Ballintubber, the side that James Horan managed to their first Mayo SFC title last season, are among those in line to make their inter-county debuts this month.

These include last year’s Mayo minor captain, Cillian O’Connor, and county U21 midfielder, Jason Gibbons.