Last September, Croke Park's reputation as an abattoir for Mayo football was cemented when the county's minors lost out in the All-Ireland final. Mayo are recognised bed-fellows of fallow times at Headquarters. Too often they have overnighted at Heartbreak hotel after leaving the west. Five appearances in the minor showpiece in 10 years represents an impressive record, but Mayo's once again fell short of getting over the line in '09. But anyone who expected the westerners' team-manager Ray Dempsey to launch into an extended period of introspection would have got it wrong. Dempsey doesn't do cliches, complex anecdotes or memorable punch lines either. Finish the chapters, close the book and move on is his way. As far as the former county senior star is concerned, his minor team didn't go from invincibles to unconvincing over the course of an hour-plus. While defeat to Armagh at the death was an epochal event in his managerial career to date, Dempsey doesn't swallow the 'bitter pill' analogy. "Listen, you have to take these sort of things in sport on the chin and move on," the former Knockmore and Mayo ace attacker declares. "We competed as best we could on the day against Armagh and tried everything we had in our locker to win the game but it wasn't to be. "A few vital opportunities slipped by which could have steered us over the line especially when we were a point up with about seven minutes to go. "But we lost Aidan Walsh with a fracture and Andrew Farrell had to go off with concussion but these things happen and you have to get over them." Mayo's U21 boss for 2010 is understandably not altogether keen to look through the prism of nostalgia in reflecting on what might have been in '09. After their minors lost out to Tyrone in the corresponding '08 final, some Mayo fans went to bury Dempsey but ended up praising him. It seems that Mayo supporters - more than most counties - are either as sour as curdled cream or, when their county triumphs, are full of joie de vivre. For Dempsey though, there seems always to be the middle, conservative ground. "Sport isn't an exact science," he points out. "But if you're not willing to learn and take certain things on board then really have no business trying to influence others to become better players." What about lessons he may have learned from losing to the Orchard County on September 20th last? "You can always learn something and more often than not you learn more in defeat as a manager and as a player. "I don't know though whether as a management team, we could or would do anything different 'cause of the way the game panned out. "We gave it our best shot and came within seconds of winning an All-Ireland title and it was a very close call the previous year against Tyrone too. "Winning all-Irelands is a very difficult proposition and all teams with genuine ambitions about doing so have to put in an extraordinary amount of work. "We're disappointed that we haven't two All-Irelands in the bag at this stage but I'm sure the players involved will learn from their experiences." With the well-documented shortcomings of the Mayo seniors in their Croke Park appearances, the Mayo minors had a lot to address in the '09 final. Did they, like their legions of supporters, one wonders, travel up to Dublin more in hope than expectation? After all some of the squad had been there in 2008 when Tyrone proved their undoing after a replay. And Ulster opposition again lined up. "I don't go in for the notion that Mayo teams suffer from psychological baggage when they go up to Croke Park," the Mayo boss responds. "All teams have to go to the bitter end to reach the summit and we did that in both finals (2008 and '09) and the outcomes were both in our hands. "I don't see any problems regarding Mayo teams going up to Croke Park; instead last September it was simply a case of us not doing quite enough. "We weren't deliberate enough on the ball or clinical enough in front of goal. And we didn't push on when we had the chance to cut them adrift. "Generally speaking, a new bunch of players come along each year and they have to plough their own furrows on the day regardless of tradition. "There are a lot of teams around that have won only one All-Ireland and did they choke on their other big days? "Last September Armagh won only their second All-Ireland minor title but nobody talks about psychological baggage when discussing them. "Okay, there is a perception out there that for all the trips Mayo teams have made to Croke Park, we haven't reaped enough of a return and to a degree that is true but I don't think successive teams from the county are weighed down by monkeys on their backs." With back-to-back Connacht MFC titles to his name as a manager, Dempsey has garnered a bird's eye view of the up-and-coming talent in Mayo. He says he is "hopeful" that "some of the players from both panels - and maybe some of them who were on the fringes of both - will go on and contribute to the county's cause at senior level." "It all depends on how they develop as players. You need to be a certain type of footballer to graduate to become a fine player at senior level. "You have to invest a lot of time and energy and adapt your social life accordingly if you are to make an impact at senior intercounty level." In 2009, the calibre of the Mayo minor football team-management fairly reflected the quality of the young footballers representing the county. Their impressive backroom saw Dempsey joined by two mainstays of the last team from the county to win a minor title in 1985. Kevin Beirne and Tomas O'Grady featured on the Tom Markham Cup winning crew from 24 years ago while the fourth member of the think-tank was Stephen Healy who guided Charlestown to a Connacht club title in 2001. In addition, Maurice Sheridan, Mayo's free-taker on the teams that reached consecutive All-Ireland finals in 1996 and 1997, worked with the aforementioned Aidan Walsh and Cillian O'Connor who shared the place-kicking duties for the Class of 2009. Those astute observers of Mayo football over the past couple of decades will remember our man Dempsey in his pomp. A skilful, pacy attacker, he lined out for his native county in the All-Ireland SFC finals of 1989 (at the age of 18) and 1996. Sadly, Dempsey's stint at the highest level was guillotined by a disc injury in his back and he was forced to retire from football at just 28. While the numbers game can prove pivotal in engineering winning material, particularly at underage level, the 'age' game can be key too. "There are some exceptional seventeen year olds who stand out at minor level but there is a big difference between a youngster approaching 17 and another approaching 18 year old. "Players at minor age mature differently and you can have a player at 18 who is 6'4" and he may be opposed by a 17 year old who hasn't developed anything like that so having as many 18 year olds on your minor team is obviously the ideal and I think the record of teams who have won All-Irelands would bear out that sort of thinking." Dempsey is wont to declare though that, first and foremost, he wishes to have players of ambition on his 'books'. Having winners alongside him, having youngsters who are fired-up to succeed on and off-the-field is what offers the Knockmore native most satisfaction as a coach. Mutual respect between the players and the management team is hugely important to the erstwhile Mayo minor manager too. "If that mutual respect isn't in place then mutual goals won't be achieved in my book," he opines. There's no regrets, no tears to cry then on Dempsey's part and who could be surprised. Mayo minors, after all, went "to the bitter end" in two successive All-Ireland finals and did themselves, their management and families, clubs and counties proud. "I was very happy with the discipline the players showed all year and the way they performed under pressure, especially in the game against Down in the All-Ireland semi-final and in the second half against Galway and in the replay against Roscommon in Hyde Park. "They did the hard-runs when called upon and I'm sure they will succeed at whatever route they take in sport or in life if they continue to show the same work ethic, honesty and ambition." Tweet

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