McStay undecided about replacing McHale

MAYO manager Kevin McStay ‘won’t make a rash decision’ about whether or not to replace Liam McHale in his backroom team for next season.
That’s according to Mayo GAA chairman Seamus Tuohy, who told club delegates at this week’s County Board meeting that he had held two meetings with McStay since Mayo’s defeat to Dublin in the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final.
In response to a question from a delegate, who enquired whether McHale, who left his role as a coach/selector with the Mayo set-up last month, would be replaced, Tuohy said: “Kevin has indicated at this stage that he will take time out to review that situation, he won’t make a rash decision on it. He’ll consider that decision over the next month.”
The chairman had earlier spoken under ‘inter-county senior review’ about the current state of play with the county’s flagship team.
“The review [of the 2023 season] has been done and we’ve been working on what we can do going forward to improve,” said Tuohy.
“Overall, when Kevin looks back on the season, certain things worked out very well.
“He had a very good pre-season, a very good National League, and championship up until the All-Ireland quarter-final.
“I suppose what probably disappointed him really was the result against Dublin. . He had high expectations going out for the second half but it just didn’t work out.
“Definitely, what they lost by [12 points], when you saw the effort that went in during the year, [you’d have thought] the gap would be a lot less.
“But there were a lot of positives and a lot of work-ons.
“So we’re moving forward in the background, particularly in relation to S&C [strength and conditioning] from the Academies right through to senior level,” he continued.
“We’ve had a number of meetings with Conor Finn [strength and conditioning coach] and we’ll be having meetings with our minor and Under-20 management. .
“We’ll be having a co-ordinated approach from Academy level right through to senior level, so that when players reach senior level they’re ready to compete at inter-county football.”
The chairman went on to thank Jason Doherty, who announced his retirement from senior inter-county football last week, for his service to Mayo.
He then singled out Liam McHale for special mention.
“I also want to acknowledge Liam McHale, who has stepped away from the management.
“Liam’s a great guy, he made the decision himself, personally, that he’s moving on.
“I met with Liam personally, and thanked him on behalf of the Board for his work over the last year. I wished him all the best, moving forward, and I’m sure he’ll be involved again at some level.”