Former Mayo manager James Horan was left seriously concerned by his county's heavy league defeat to Dublin at the weekend.
Horan, who managed Mayo between 2010 and 2014, and is perpetually linked with a return back to the managerial fold, wrote in his Irish Daily Star column today that 'change is needed' if Mayo are to recover from a psychologically challenging, 12-point defeat to the side which broke their hearts in September and October last year.
Mayo were tipped by many to bring Dublin's unbeaten streak to an end, but ended up scoring a paltry seven points in Croke Park to Dublin's 1-16. The defeat was Mayo's second of the league season.
Horan wrote:
Dublin's pasting of Mayo on Saturday evening wasn't one that anyone saw coming.
This was a wake-up call. And Mayo have to react to it.
Everything goes under the microscope after a defeat like this. Whether it's changing personnel, the tactical approach or whatever, change is needed.
You can't brush off a defeat like that and pretend it didn't happen.
He also questioned Mayo's defence after Dublin laid waste to their opponents' rearguard on a number of occasions, with only Ballina's David Clarke, who was infamously dropped for last season's replay despite being one of the finest shot-stoppers in the country, offering any form of resistance as the Dubs surged forward in possession.
Following his side's resounding defeat, current Mayo manager Stephen Rochford was critical of his side's display all around the park.
"We just didn't perform, that's the most disappointing thing,” he said.
We didn't win enough breaking ball. We didn't work hard enough. That's a reflection of how hard Dublin worked.
We didn’t have the answers for Dublin
We're a better team than we showed tonight. We'll improve as the season goes on.
Rochford insisted that a heavy loss to their conquerors of last season will bear no impact on Mayo in the summer.
You can read James Horan's full column on Mayo's defeat in the hard copy of today's Irish Daily Star.
