Mayo GAA games manager Billy McNicholas has launched a passionate defence of the coaching structures within the county.

The entire GAA landscape in Mayo was called into question after the county's senior footballers dismal championship performance this summer, crashing out of Connacht at the hands of Sligo before plummeting to defeat to Longford in the qualifiers.

Manager John O'Mahony stepped down in the immediate aftermath of the latter game while the County Board have pledged a root and branch review of the sport in the county.

But McNicholas, who has served as a coach in the Mayo development set-up since 1993 and been Games Manager of the past four years, insists that development coaching is not to blame for the shortcomings of the senior side.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Mayo News, he said, "[People were saying] things like 'What are we doing in terms of development structures?' Or, 'The players coming through aren't good enough.'

"In the last five years alone we've contested three All-Ireland minor finals … We've won three Connacht minor championships in a row and four U-21 titles in a row. In each of those squads, 95% of the players have come through the Mayo development system. That's a huge amount."

He added, "People don't seem to be acknowledging the good work we're doing but are highlighting the negatives. They seem to be blaming the development structures for the failure of the Mayo senior team. That's totally wrong." Tweet

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