Alan Dillon has no interest in losing eight All-Irelands. The Mayo legend has lost four senior finals, along with two at minor level and another at under-21, but these heartbreaks were never for the want of trying.
Dillon came off the bench in the final ten minutes last Sunday, and kicked a superb point in front of the Hogan Stand to level the game in the 61st minute. Unfortunately, Dillon had to leave the field a few minutes later with a hand injury, replaced by Barry Moran.
Stephen Rochford has this evening briefed the Mayo News that Dillon is Mayo's main injury concern ahead of the replay. Dillon suffered a badly bruised foot after a collision with Cian O'Sullivan, but as Rochford reveals, he was still able to play on and kick the equalising point, before eventually succumbing to the pain:
He has had an x-ray and a scan. It is just a case of can he move on it next week, that is the concern. He had signalled to come off just before he kicked the point. Thankfully he was able to manage through for that minute or two ... He is the only one there is potentially any doubt about.
Rochford confirmed that Evan Regan - who came off the worst in that nasty collision at the end of the game - will be fit, as will Cillian O'Connor. Rochford also responded to two of the stories dominating the Mayo build-up to the drawn game: those Jim McGuinness rumours, along with Joe Brolly's cutting criticism in his Sunday Independent column, in which he branded Mayo "celebrity losers". On Brolly he said that "I don’t think it’s necessarily fair language, but that’s a choice for that ... pundit to make. It certainly didn’t keep me awake".
On McGuinness, he said he had never "met or spoken to the man":
If somebody wants to say the Pope is training us next week, so be it!
It won’t distract us from what the task is on Saturdayweek.
Quite the task it will be. Here's hoping that Dillon will be fit to take his place in the trenches.
See Also: Watch: 'Poor Journalism' - Jim McGuinness Coldly Rubbishes Those Mayo Rumours
