Moran pitches for permanent posting

Everyone else laughs while he smiles politely.

Five years ago he was finished at inter-county level. Last year he was finished. After the league final against Cork this year he was gone for sure when one local paper gave him a five out of ten rating.

He’s spent his career overlooked by some managers, under-appreciated by others and mostly injured but the most annoying thing for Barry Moran was that the majority of his time with Mayo was spent on the sidelines or played out of position.

Known as a league man, come championship the regular midfield spot would be secured by a Seamus O’Shea, a Ronan Mc Garrity , an Aidan O’Shea or Aidan Campbell or even a Tom Parsons.

He shone sporadically. But, because he was a casualty of Kieran Donaghy syndrome, it mostly came at full-forward. His greatest moment in the red and green senior jersey came in the 2009 Connacht final where he scored a first-half goal against Galway but, despite that good start, he didn’t take off and was instead taken off.

Midfield outings were given accusations of limited mobility and poor distribution. James Horan gave him a look in a January FBD game in 2011, his first there since a league hammering at the hands of Dublin in 2006, but he didn’t see the centre of the park again for 12 months.

So when he’s asked what position he prefers, his manager fires a few words in his ear: “Don’t answer that, you’ll be held to ransom.”

Everyone laughed, but Moran smiled. After six years on and off the Mayo panel he was finally playing in the position he wanted: “As a player, you’ll play anywhere of course. At the minute, I think I’m playing well enough around the middle to get another chance there the next day.

“I started my career in that position. The reason I was put in full-forward was that I was simply incapable of getting to the fitness levels required of midfielders in the modern game.”

Getting fit was a journey of discovery. He was dropped last year after picking up another injury and it was time to decide — stay playing or quit.

“I had to have a look at myself. I picked up an injury at the start of the year [2011] and I wasn’t really up to inter-county standard and was cut when it came to the championship.

“I realised what I wanted to do. I put the head down. I’d great help from James [Horan] and all the backroom team who got me fit and healthy.”

That help was the difference. In his early days with Mayo it was all about lifting more than anyone else in the gym and staying longer on the training grounds to get in shape. His body repeatedly broke down until Horan’s backroom team took hold of him.

“When I started off a few years ago with Mayo you’d go into a gym and it would be a case of lift this, lift that. The more you could lift the better. James and the backroom team – Ed Coughlan, Cian O’Neill – have done an awful lot of work with me.

“I’ve changed my approach. Stretching is a big thing for me now. I’ve done a small bit of yoga. They’ve definitely helped me compared to my approach a few years ago which was probably counter-productive if anything. It’s all about endurance training with me now.”

He came back into the panel and was again given a chance in midfield against GMIT in this year’s FBD League. Horan alternated him between midfield and full-forward at first but he showed enough to hold the role.

His performance against Cork in the final will haunt him though. Written off again and with Mc Garrity and the O’Sheas coming back from injury he must have resigned himself to the bench. But he kept plugging away and impressed in training. He got the nod for the Leitrim game.

On Sunday he is set to start his 16th competitive game for Mayo this year. In the six years before it he’d struggle to match that figure in all his matches. Given the chance to shine he’s taken it and is being mooted as a possible All Star.

And considering he was dropped in 2011 that rise in stature has surprised even himself. “Most things with me were always physical,” he said.

“It’s always been about injuries. If you look at my career in recent years, I’ve picked up so many injuries. And people are always looking at me saying there’s something wrong with him again now. Thankfully that’s not the case now.

“This time last year I was sitting in the stands cheering Mayo on. Luckily enough I’m here now preparing for an All-Ireland semi-final. This is the one thing I’ve been looking forward to and I’m raring to go for it now.”