Mackey: I’d love to see Johnston back

His departure cut Cavan to the quick, but Cian Mackey insists he won’t hold any grudge against Seanie Johnston if the former captain chooses to return to his native county.

GPA Opel Footballer of the Month for July, Mackey, was Cavan’s sole attacking inspiration against Kerry last weekend.

In fact, it was his brilliant long range point that reduced their arrears to five points with around 10 minutes to go, offering genuine hope they could turn around a nine-point interval deficit.

But they would eventually lose by six and, aside from Mackey, generally lacked vital craft and guile in attack.

Asked if Johnston, who is reportedly considering a return to Cavan after two unsuccessful seasons with Kildare, could have been the difference, Mackey said it was possible.

“Possibly, yeah, ‘Jelly’ is a class act and a very good footballer, if he is back next year, and I don’t know because I haven’t really been talking to him too often, he probably would give another bit of teeth to the attack,” said Mackey, who revealed he’d personally welcome Johnston back.

“I know Seanie and I played with him all the way up. I would gladly like to see him back. He’s a good friend. I don’t know what the rest of the boys’ views are but we’ll just have to wait and see come the club championship.”

In the meantime, Mackey and the rest of the Cavan players will watch the concluding stages of the All-Ireland Championship play out without them.

Their quarter-final conquerors, Kerry, will take on Dublin in the semi-finals on September 1 and Mackey tipped the latter to prevail.

But he pointed out that while Dublin’s forwards are putting up big scores this year, they may have a more difficult afternoon against Kerry.

The Kingdom’s rearguard have conceded just one goal all summer and, against Cavan, never looked like conceding a goal.

“It is possible they could be opened up but they’re cute,” continued Mackey. “Their elder statesmen know when to shut out games and when not to leave goal chances open. They’re not suspect at the back really.

“As a team, Kerry are quality. And their forwards are unbelievable. But in terms of the All-Ireland, it’s wide open completely. You seen at the weekend what the likes of the Dubs and Mayo can do when they stretch their legs so it’s anyone’s guess at this stage.”