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Kevin McStay: ‘I think that we’ve grown as group’

Roscommon players and manager Kevin McStay celebrating following a famous win in Salthill.

Roscommon players and manager Kevin McStay celebrating following a famous win in Salthill.

**By Kevin Egan **


To most of the country, Roscommon’s stunning nine-point victory over Galway in the Connacht final was one of the performances of the summer.

Roscommon produced a wonderful display of controlled, attacking football played at a very high tempo, immediately consigning to old history the memory of their relegation from Division One of the Allianz League in the spring.

Much of the pre-match analysis around their upcoming quarter final clash with Mayo at Croke Park has centred on whether or not Kevin McStay’s side can match that level of performance – but further improvement is the least he expects this Sunday.

“We’ve gone through a lot of detail from the Connacht Final. After the 14th minute, we stopped scoring,” McStay says.

“We had 1-6 and then hit seven wides in a row. We came out in the second half, got Brian Stack’s goal, and then we downed tools again for another 15 or 20 minutes. So we don’t define that as playing great in a Connacht Final. We were very strong in the first and last quarter. But there was a fair speed wobble in the middle. We won’t get away with that in Croke Park.

“We’d be very happy with the overall energy we brought to the Connacht final alongside the way the lads went about their business. The wides just happened and hopefully they’ll take care of themselves the next day,” he added.

Roscommon manager Kevin McStay.

Roscommon manager Kevin McStay.

 Not since the 2001 Connacht final have supporters in Roscommon watched their team beat Mayo in the Championship, and the conversation in clubhouses, shops and pubs all across the county was about how Mayo’s physicality and experience will be a huge threat for this young and light Roscommon team. It’s a threat that McStay recognises, even if he believes that a tipping point is coming some time in the future.

“Their strength and conditioning is the single biggest challenge. It gets to a stage where they just bully you to the point where they almost tease you to kick the ball out to them. They have a way of dominating you in the tackle or on the kickout that puts pressure on everyone.

“But we have two years done in Division One — the good, the bad and the ugly. I would hope that we would be a lot better riding out that storm. They have four or five absolutely top drawer players, but that’s the beauty of it. One team are at a certain part of their evolution and the other is at a different part. Eventually they’re going to collide and time is the only thing that’s going to dictate when and where.

“This week is about us and what we’ll bring to the table. I’m not going to get too worried about Mayo. There is certain preparation we will do, that is correct and logical. It would be remiss of any management team if they didn’t do that preparation. But I’m not going to get screwed up about what Mayo bring. They’ll bring certain things and we admire them for that. But we’ll bring our own attributes and that’s what we’ll be concentrating on.”

Those attributes; pace, ball-carrying, a commitment to attack and a youthful effervescence were all on display in the Connacht final, and McStay is hopeful that the occasion will bring that out even more this Sunday afternoon.

“From my playing experience, I think that all teams tend to improve going to Croke Park after a good Connacht final win,” he remarked.

“You’re trying your best and you’re very, very competitive, but your confidence grows. Things you might have found a little bit difficult in the earlier rounds, but you’re much fitter now. You’re stronger and you’re more composed.

“I think that we’ve grown as group. They’ve seen what is possible when you prepare well, figure out what you want to do and, more importantly, go out there and apply it. Everyone knew what they had to do. Their roles were very clear and, to their great credit, they executed it brilliantly.

“The venue is something that I hope will really energise us.”