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04th Oct 2017

Andy Moran’s attitude to being substituted all the time is a measure of the man

There's a reason he's the most loved man in Mayo

Darragh Culhane

Moran

People in Mayo love Andy Moran.

They love him because he has been around the block for so long and he just keeps coming back.

They love him because he gets better even at the age of 33, they love him because he had a career year.

They love him because he is everything the people of Mayo represent, a dying pursuit of an elusive title.

Despite his best year in a Mayo jersey there was always a near certainty when Mayo played that Moran would be one of the men substituted.

Stephen Rochford said it was never predetermined, and maybe it isn’t, but alongside Colm Boyle the pair always seem to be the first two called out of action.

It probably is a reasonable call, as good as Andy Moran is he is 33-years-old and them legs will undoubtedly tire a little faster than in years prior but the Ballaghaderren man was nothing but class when speaking about it:

Usually, for Moran, he is replaced by Conor Loftus, a player that is sure to be the heir to Moran’s throne as marquee forward and when speaking on the GAA Hour, the Mayo man explained why he never feels too hard done by coming off:

“My position is that I have an exceptionally good footballer coming in for me,” Moran told Colm Parkinson

“You see Conor Loftus, what he can do. He came on and scored two points against Kerry, he’s an exceptional player.

“You look around our team, you have our free taker Cillian (O’Connor), Aidan (O’Shea) you have Jason (Doherty) and Kevin (McLoughlin) who are runners.

“I’m fairly comfortable with that switch at that time, it is what it is, to be honest with you.

“This guy, Conor Loftus, could be a special player and I’m looking forward to seeing him play a bit more,” Moran concluded.

You can listen to the full interview below from 23’50

LISTEN: The GAA Hour – Klopp in Croker, flop in Kildare and the ‘worst fans’ award?