Lee Keegan: You win at all costs, that’s the way it is

Lee Keegan can understand why people from Dublin, as All-Ireland champions, were disappointed he pipped Brian Fenton and Ciarán Kilkenny for the Footballer of the Year award.

The Mayo half-back received more votes from inter-county footballers than either of the other two short-listed candidates, prompting a frustrated reaction in the capital.

However, he maintains the award hasn’t been tarnished by that fall-out. “No, I didn’t make players pick me for Footballer of the Year. I didn’t pay them 50s to vote for me! That’s up to other people to criticise. I can’t do anything about it. I got recognised by my peers. The system is there. They picked me.