MAYO GAA have their ideal deadline set for the appointment of the next senior football manager to replace Kevin McStay.
McStay was ‘relieved’ of his duties as senior football manager by the Mayo county board two weeks ago.
The decision came after Mayo’s disappointing group stage Championship exit following the loss to Donegal in their final group game.
The Ballina native stepped aside from his role following the loss to Cavan due to health reasons.
Stand in head coach Stephen Rochford has also moved on from the Westeners having been announced to take a coaching role with Tullamore GAA.
According to Mayo News, in a county board meeting Mayo GAA revealed they are hoping to have a new senior football team manager in place within the next five to seven weeks.
The Executive also stated that they had planned to have the new management in place for the early rounds of the club football championship.
One of the front runners for the vacant position has ruled himself out of contention.
Speaking on the Irish Examiner podcast James Horan made it clear he had no intentions of returning for a third stint as Mayo manager.
He said: “I won’t be going for the Mayo manager position. Not at all. It is not for me.
“I had a go at that and I think it’s time for Mayo to look at someone different or something different.”
The Green and Red county have a history of recycling former managers.
Pat Holmes, John O’Mahony, John Maughan and most recently Stephen Rochford – albeit for unfortunate circumstances – have all had two stints at the helm.
No Mayo manager has had three separate tenures in charge and Horan does not want to be the first.
The two time All-star believes a new face should be the target for the Mayo county board.
There are plenty of options to choose from with big names such as Ger Brennan, Robert Galligan, Dessie Farrell, Tony McEntee and Paul Shankey all stepping down from their roles this season.
Despite resigning from the Mayo job on two occasions, Horan remains a fan of the Westeners.
He is quite happy to remain on the opposite side of the barriers and away from the whitewash where he spent so much of his time.
The Ballintubber man added: “I’m just a supporter and happy in that position, going to the games with my young fella, cheering them on.
“Where I am at the moment, I’ve had a chat with Seamus Tuohy on that just to clear it up, because I don’t even want my name associated with it in case there is any confusion. Absolutely not.”
Mayo are not alone in their search for a new manager however as Dublin, Cavan, Louth, Sligo, Antrim and Waterford are all also in the market.
