Brolly wrote that Mayo were \u201ca mess\u201d and criticised Moran for introducing experienced figures such as Aidan O\u2019Shea, Cillian O\u2019Connor and Stephen Coen off the bench during the match, while also referencing starters Rob Hennelly and Diarmuid O\u2019Connor.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is hard not to think that this is a manager and an old friends\u2019 group stuck in a past that can never be changed,\u201d Brolly added.<\/p>\n
Andy Moran Fires Back At Joe Brolly After Mayo ‘Old Pals’ Jibe<\/p>\n
\n Recommended\n <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Speaking to Mike Finnerty after Mayo\u2019s win over Roscommon, Moran was asked directly about the comments, but first stopped to clarify who had written the piece before responding.<\/p>\n Moran was keen to play down the criticism, suggesting that Brolly\u2019s column was more about generating reaction than offering genuine analysis.<\/p>\n I actually get on quite well with Joe. I\u2019ve no problem with Joe, but I think it\u2019s more of an entertainment piece than a football piece.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The Mayo boss also defended his decision to reintroduce experienced players into the squad, including Cillian O\u2019Connor and Rob Hennelly, who had previously stepped away from the panel before returning under Moran this season.<\/p>\n If Cillian O\u2019Connor\u2019s in my squad, lads, he needs to get minutes in his legs and he\u2019s going to play like everybody else.<\/p>\n The same with Aidan, same with Stevie and these boys. If they\u2019re here, they\u2019re going to play.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think as Mayo supporters anyone would be giving out about Cillian O\u2019Connor coming back.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n While Andy Moran was very relaxed in his response to Brolly\u2019s broader criticism, he did take issue with one aspect of the column, the framing of it around teenage forward Kobe McDonald.<\/p>\n The 18-year-old has been one of the breakout stars of the league campaign and is set to join AFL side St Kilda later this year, leading to increased attention around his future.<\/p>\n Brolly suggested that Mayo\u2019s struggles against Kerry could influence McDonald\u2019s decision to move to Australia, a point Moran felt crossed a line.<\/p>\n The only disappointment I would think is that the young lad that was referenced in the article, Kobe, had to go to school on Monday morning.<\/p>\n I obviously put him out there, we give him that experience and exposure, and there\u2019s going to be stuff written about him.<\/p>\n But I just think\u2026 newspapers and the real quality papers just need to show a tiny bit of restraint when they\u2019re using Kobe. A tiny bit.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Despite the off-field noise, Mayo\u2019s performance against Roscommon offered a timely response, with a much-changed side delivering a dominant display and they now prepare to face London in the Connacht championship before a likely rematch against the Rossies in a semi-final.<\/p>\n SEE ALSO: Galway Boss Padraic Joyce Paid Amazing Tribute To Sunday Game Legend Michael Lyster<\/a><\/p>\n
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\nSEE ALSO: New GAA Rule Saw Galway Miss Out On Clear Penalty Against Dublin<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Andy Moran has dismissed Joe Brolly\u2019s recent criticism of Mayo as \u201cmore of an entertainment piece than a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":398984,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[76],"tags":[167029,18,19,17,132],"class_list":["post-398983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-andy-moran","tag-eire","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-sports"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116275898344238612","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=398983"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398983\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/398984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=398983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=398983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=398983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}