Loyal midfield servant Barry Moran adapts to standby role for Mayo

Reader, we’ll let you in on a little secret. When counties hold press conferences ahead of big championship games, the better interviews are usually held later in the week closer to the match. No biggie, right? Managers are often the exception but they can, on the odd occasion find themselves in the Saturday edition.

There are other exemptions. As has regularly been the case these last four or five seasons, managers have made squad players available to the media. Talk about taking one for the team! They mightn’t get a sniff of the action but at least they’re doing their bit. Such men’s words are seen early in the week and quickly forgotten about.

Today Barry Moran finds himself in the newspapers a little earlier than one might expect of a player who was more than dutiful in his new sweeping berth against Donegal. As engaging a story as the Castlebar Mitchels man’s is, he might not retain a starting role this Sunday. Of course, he could be drafted in late as he was the last day but then Dublin’s full-forward line asks different questions and he may be surplus to requirements.