In an article for the Western People, James Horan, who is in the odd position of being both the immediate predecessor of Holmes and Connelly and the second favourite among the bookies to succeed them, has backed the Mayo squad's decision to revolt against their managers, describing it as 'courageous'.
I think it was a hugely courageous step by the players, one they must have known was very high risk, hugely divisive and potentially career-ending for some.
This would have been discussed in some detail with all options and avenues explored. This was not a decision that was taken lightly and the players would have known they were leaving themselves open to public opprobrium by embarking on such a course of action. It put them in a position of ridicule and increased focus.
I am not sure the players have a masterplan of what’s next. The players were in a place that was dark and they could not see the road. They needed to clear the way, lift the weights and deal with things first.
While other Mayo stalwarts like Kenneth Mortimer believe the revolt to be counter-productive and have called on the players to lay out the reasons behind the heave, Horan insists that going public on these matters would be 'the completely wrong thing to do at this stage'.
The players will feel terrible about the way things have unfolded. The players are also very genuine guys, who, in my opinion, would never look to publicly humiliate people.
These guys are looking everywhere for anything, any fine margins that will support their constant drive for improvement. Sometimes there are consequences to this relentlessness that are not always positive for everyone.
For it to get to this, there are a number of things that must be wrong in the process. Everything needs to be looked at that led to this outcome, not the just the outcome itself.
Last week, the sports editor of the Mayo News and lead Sky Sports hurling commentator, Mike Finnerty told us that he reckoned that Horan would be a serious candidate to replace the two boys and no one could be too shocked if he ended up in the Mayo dugout next spring.
Nonetheless, a flood of money has come behind the Corofin manager Stephen Rochford in recent days.
