They Said It ....

September 2004

The second game Mayo got against Fermanagh won’t do them any harm. They have had two very tough matches and John Maughan will be desperate to win a final after losing in 1996 and ’97.
He will feel that his turn has come but we are equally determined and desperate to win this.
The league and Munster championship will go out the window if we don’t win the final, so we will be leaving no stone unturned.
Jack O’Connor laughs off any notion that Mayo will have more desire to win the All-Ireland on September 26

It was very frustrating. It's bad enough having to struggle to keep you feet without having the ball skid off the surface when you try to bounce it.
There's a plastic-like fibre in the grass which obviously makes it very slippery, even on a dry day. Something will have to be done to rectify it
The pitch surface at Croke Park has come in for heavy criticism this year.
John Maughan gives his two cents worth after the win over Fermanagh

There was no fella jumping around the dressing room at all. Nor was there a sense of relief that we've actually made the final. There's no such thing as ‘getting to the final is a bonus'. We want to win this thing - we've more hard work to do, but we've a lot done going all the way back to last October.
That all goes out the window if you don't win the All-Ireland.
Jack O’Connor, shortly after the semi-final win over Derry, on Kerry’s commitment to winning the All-Ireland final

It's a fair tribute to our boys that they managed to dig out those points at the end.
The refusal to wilt is a tremendous trait to have in a team. The last day we were not totally focused, or had the application we had against Tyrone, but we got out of jail and that stood to the team today.
John Maughan lauds his side’s character after they hit three late points to clinch a win over Fermanagh in the All-Ireland semi-finalWe don't care what the perception is, to be honest.

I would be worried and would be watching my back and looking around corners if nobody was saying anything about us. Two years ago we were playing dream-team football and you are setting yourself up for a fall.
Back in 2002, there was plenty of video-fodder for managers, tacticians and opposing teams to look at and they found it easy to stop us.
Looking at Kerry now, you might not find it so easy to break us down because there's not that much beautiful football to break down.
Kerry’s Dara O’Cinneide reveals that as long as his side are winning, he doesn’t care what people think about the team’s style.

My initial reaction is that we got out of jail.
With 15 minutes to go, I was praying to the Lord and calling in any favours that we were due. Yeah, we were very, very lucky. Fermanagh had a wonderful opportunity to beat us today. You have to take your hats off to our boys, our defence in particular, they showed marvellous resilience
John Maughan counts his lucky stars that the Fermanagh forwards forgot where the posts were in the drawn All-Ireland semi-final

Dublin must have been feeling very unlucky at half time because they had three or four good goaling chances, with Ciaran Whelan nearly breaking the crossbar with a pile driver.
We managed to weather the storm and, traditionally, we have come on strong in the third quarter.
In fairness, our backs conceded a fair few goal chances which, on another day, could have gone in. We still have a bit of homework to do and some problems to solve.
If Whelan had scored after that great run, it would have been a different story because it would have lifted the whole Dublin crowd and the team. You need the odd rub of the green.
Jack O’Connor has no hesitation in admitting that Kerry were fortunate that Dublin left their scoring boots behind them in the sides’ All-Ireland quarter final.
Lesser teams might have buckled with that terrific goal but our guys came down the field and got a point within the next couple of minutes and they showed great character in doing that. It's a great tribute to the team they way they dug in and performed and refused to die
John Maughan pays tribute to the resolve his side showed after Tyrone scored a goal to level the All-Ireland quarter final.

Aidan Moran was brought into the camp to help us and he has done a lot of work with us. He just keeps the squad focused and helps us to maintain concentration during games. We have learned to stay positive and believe we are as good as what is out there.
There is no inferiority complex in Mayo this year according to captain Gary Ruane.

We have won the league and the Munster championship and that takes a little of the heat off us going into the All-Ireland series.
We have two or three weeks to get a couple of the injured fellas back in the reckoning again.
There will be a lot of belief in the team from here on in. The lads now know that even when things are going against them, they can dig very deep.
The pressure was off Kerry after their Munster final win reckoned Jack O’Connor

The way we see it is that we won’t really fear any team but we will treat whoever we are drawn against with respect.
We feel as if we have a good team here. We have speed and skill and great depth in the squad, so we have a lot to work with.
Having won the Connacht championship, John Maughan was confident enough not to worry about which team his side would draw in the All-Ireland quarter finals. His faith was well placed as Mayo overcame Tyrone in their last eight meeting