Mackey would welcome 'Jelly' back to Cavan fold

Cian Mackey says he would love to have Seanie Johnston back on board with the Cavan senior footballers.

Mackey returned to Croke Park yesterday less than 48 hours after suffering defeat in the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final to Kerry, as he picked up the GAA-GPA Opel Footballer of the Month award for July.

The Castlerahan clubman would be happy to have 'Jelly' back in a Cavan jersey, but says that ultimately the decision lies with Breffni County boss Terry Hyland.

"I played with Jelly since our underage days and he is a good friend of mine," Mackey said of Johnston, who had a much-publicised transfer to a Kildare club last year and made his debut for the Lilywhites against his native county last July.

"The door is open for Seanie to come back from what Terry has been saying. It's up to Seanie to get back playing with his club (Cavan Gaels) and he has to earn his place back in the squad.

"Seanie is a top notch footballer and I'm sure if he is playing good football he will get the call-up."

Should Johnston make his speculated return to the Gaels and then win a place back in the Cavan starting line-up, it will mean that a player will lose out. Mackey says that this is the hardest part of the situation.

"It would be a tough pill to swallow alright for a player that is there if Seanie comes in," he said.

"It's an open panel. There's 36 or 37 lads playing and training week in, week out. If Seanie comes back and he's not playing well, he won't be playing. If he is, he will be playing, but that's a decision for Terry and Fordey (Anthony Forde) and the boys to make.

"I'm open enough...I'm an easy going fella with things like that so I would be delighted to see him back, but it's up to Terry to make the call."

Mackey's trip to Croke Park to claim a rare personal accolade for a Cavan footballer came after a stirring qualifier run earned the county their first ever All-Ireland quarter-final date, with the 26-year-old wing forward playing a central role.

He bagged a vital goal in the extra-time win over Derry at Owenbeg, while he was also a leading figure in their round 4 victory over London at Croke Park.

"It's always good to get recognition for all of the hard work you put in, but it is very disappointing after what happened at the weekend. We will pick ourselves up and hopefully get back training at the end of the year. Now I'm going to take a well-earned rest."

Mackey still feels it was a great year for Cavan despite no silverware being annexed.

"You want to win, we still have empty pockets. Against the likes of Derry we were given no chance, but we kicked on and we wanted to win. Hopefully next year we will show what we can do at the business end of the Championship," he added.