James Horan talks about the 2011 game that almost ended his time as Mayo manager

James Horan believes his managerial career with Mayo “would have been over” had the team lost to London in 2011.

Horan says his first championship game in charge, which almost ended in disaster five years ago, could have been his last had Trevor Mortimer and Kevin McLoughlin not kicked late points to force extra time and save the team from the ignominy of a Connacht SFC collapse against the Exiles.

Mayo return to Ruislip on Sunday for the first time since that 0-19 to 2-10 extra-time victory, and the sense of shock and relief is still fresh in the mind of the man who subsequently took them to All-Ireland finals in 2012 and 2013.

“It was bordering on out of control. The players weren’t sure what was happening either and we were just hanging on, hoping. There was a kind of a ‘this can’t be happening’ vibe to it. Very unusual.”

Horan had a strained relationship with the Mayo County Board during his four years as manager. Following his departure in the wake of the All-Ireland semi-final replay defeat by Kerry in 2014, he criticised county chiefs for not standing up for the team when the replay was scheduled for the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick.

The Ballintubber man, who will be a pundit for Sky Sports’ coverage of the football championship, now says he could have been booted out had they lost to London.

“It would have been over, no question. I would have picked up that vibe from officials that might have been there, make no mistake about it. It was fairly clear.

“Nothing direct, but you know the way these things operate sometimes! The officials and how they can say things... but I’m sure because of the snowball effect it would have had, it would have been out of control. I’m pretty sure of that.”

Indicating that their unwieldy travel itinerary had been down to cost-cutting measures by the county board, Horan explains how the team were prevented from conducting their warm-up properly. “Because it went to extra time we had officials coming out to tell us we’d be late for the plane. Everything about it was mad. It definitely shaped us as a management team as well and what we did from there.

“There was a realisation of where we were and what needed to be done. It just set a tone and we knew there was only one way we could go. I think it gelled or glued us all together and there was no looking back. The boats were burned at that stage, so we had to go forward.

“Thankfully we got through it and kicked on. And they’re still kicking on.”

If that day was a defining moment for Mayo, then Horan is convinced the best is still to come.

Far from having their best days behind them, he’s encouraged by the emergence of Diarmuid O’Connor, Brendan Harrison, Patrick Durcan, Evan Regan and Conor Loftus.

“The age-profile of the team is 26 which is perfect, it’s the optimum for inter-county football, and those players are potentially young players of a very high calibre.

“They’ve obviously yet to do it in championship some of them, or get a start, but I think it’s very exciting to have those guys mixed in with the experienced players.

“And that’s what the London camp will do. There’s a training camp for four or five days over there, and that will integrate the young and the old very successfully.

“I think the team is getting stronger all the time. I genuinely think it is.

“They are a very focused bunch and they’re looking to do everything they possibly can, and there’s a few players to give it a fresh impetus so I think they’ll be very, very competitive.”