Morrison looking forward

Gaelic Games News round-upJohn Morrison has plenty of reasons to hold a grudge for the manner he and Mickey Moran were removed from the Mayo management ticket. But that's simply not the man's style.

"The width of my fingernail measures my gripe with Mayo," said Morrison. "At the end there was a sour taste, but I have so many good memories of my time in Mayo. Good memories of the players, the people and even the county board. Mayo will be back to an All-Ireland final sooner than people think. It was a good year, but it's just unfortunate how it finished.

"I would have liked to sit down one-on-one with the boys and ask them the hard questions, as I did with myself in the aftermath."

It was a messy conclusion. The fickleness of Mayo football - heroes all on the path to September, but calamity personified after the Kerry mauling - ensured the reign of Moran and his trusted coach lasted a single season.

Moran eventually faced the firing squad, but Morrison was not willing to make the 300-mile round trip for such an experience. The innovative Armagh coach quit before the Mayo executive could pass sentence.

Of course, it was all presented publicly as an amicable parting.

The now infamous county board meeting at which club delegates vented their criticism of the absent management must surely rankle?

"We were asked to the first meeting (of our tenure), why were we not asked to what turned out to be the last meeting? It is the way of the GAA. You cannot attend such a meeting unless invited. I would have attended if invited. It would have been easier to have brought us down and just said 'thanks, but we won't be needing you next year'."

Mixed messages everywhere. Earlier this season, Mayo County Board secretary Seán Feeney gave an interview about the cost of running Mayo football. The figure was €500,000 and he said, in what carried ominous undertones, that this expenditure may not be sustained in the future.

"The remarks that were said about the costs were never put to bed properly. A list on equipment was presented to the county board when we came in so they knew in advance. The power bags and other equipment were just one-off costs.

"I am meticulous about every training session and keep records of them, which I still have. Medical costs were catered for. The dietician? I interviewed and hired her but never discussed costs. That was done with the county board.

"I even tried to introduce a Club Mayo, like they have in Tyrone and Armagh (whereby funding is generated to cover the intercounty team costs), but it is yet to get off the ground - €500,000 is around the amount Armagh and Tyrone spent in their All-Ireland winning years. It is nearly par for the course now."

Morrison reinforces the point about no grudges before looking, as ever, forward positively. He immediately returned to what he knows best - nurturing the grassroots on cold winter nights (he was pitch-side last Sunday as the Donaghmoyne women captured the Ulster club championship).

He has been overseeing level-two coaching courses in Ulster and will do likewise in Leinster come December. In between, there will be a fitness seminar in the capital and maybe a women's football session in Portlaoise. He'll keep moving until a big fish comes calling.

Winning a provincial title, reaching the All-Ireland final and making the league play-offs will ensure Morrison and Moran will be offered an opportunity to return to the highest stage soon, although maybe not together. "There have been a few clubs in touch but nothing solid. My name was mentioned in connection with Carlow, but I don't want that sort of travelling again. Eventually I would like a go at the number one job with a club or county."

And then there is the literary side of Morrison's life. "I sent six titles into publishers for books I intend to write. Two are adult coaching books (Steel of Thought and Games for Mental Fitness are the working titles), two coaching books for juveniles and two fictional books for children."

Hang on, children's books? "Yeah, I have a few ideas and I need to get them finished. I have written three coaching books before. There is a serious dearth of coaching books out there for managers to refer to."