Mortimer family criticise Mayo manager
The family of former Mayo player Conor Mortimer released a stinging criticism of county manager James Horan last night.
The all-time leading scorer in Mayo history, just one game shy of his 100th appearance for the county, quit the team on Tuesday after not being named in the starting team for the Connacht final against Sligo.
James Horan told the Irish Examiner the door would always be open for players showing good club form, but all hopes of that would appear to be shattered following a family statement, which was read out on Midwest Radio’s Sports Talkshop last night, accusing the manager of destroying their sibling’s confidence.
"Conor lived for Mayo football all his life," the statement read.
"He began his inter-county career in the Ted Webb Competition and suffered numerous injuries over the years. Both of his brothers, Kenneth and Trevor, played for the county also and suffered injuries, like Conor over the years. They are 100% behind his decision.
"The family feel that Conor, Kenneth and Trevor owe nothing to Mayo football. Conor is a colourful character and made many friends and some enemies over the years while playing.
"Conor was out of football for 12 months last year with a knee injury. The manager James Horan never contacted him to see how he was coming along.
"When he returned to football, he was playing super football for his club Shrule/Glencorrib. James Horan was notified of a game he would be playing in, but did not attend.
"The family feel that Conor wasn’t wanted in the team. He says that every time Conor was dropped James Horan told him he had a new plan, in that he had found two goal-scoring forwards. However, the Mortimer family feel that plan has not materialised.
"Conor was playing well in A v B games in training of late and two former Mayo managers saw him and can’t understand why he wasn’t picked.
"He scored 0-8 against Dublin in the league in Castlebar and was man of the match in that game, which was well deserved. He was dropped two weeks later for the Kerry game and only played for 10-15 minutes of it.
"He was dropped again from the starting 15 for the Leitrim game because of this plan referred to by the manager. He is currently fourth choice as a corner forward and it has destroyed his confidence.
"He wasn’t happy with the way football was being played in the Mayo camp."
The family also accused Horan of ignoring their club and believed Conor had at least another three years left in him at inter-county level.
"When the previous manager was in charge, there were four Shrule/Glencorrib players on the panel. Now there are none.
"Mark Ronaldson was another example from last season – he was playing well and was dropped from the panel.
"In the last seven or eight Connacht finals that Mayo were involved in, Conor was top scorer in six of them. He is the all-time leading scorer in Mayo. He feels he has another three years of top-level football in him, but has made his decision and his family are behind him.
"Football was his life and he was never found wanting. He always made himself available to the media, but now all he wants is his privacy and integrity protected.
"His family are extremely happy with his achievements and are very proud of him and have always been 100% behind him and remain so."
The timing of the statement, two days before a Connacht final against Sligo, is likely to have massive repercussions within the county.
The fact that Conor’s brothers Kenneth and Trevor — who both captained Mayo in the past — were attributed with the statement will add to the intrigue in the coming days.
