Stephen Rochford has resigned as Mayo manager.
Rochford cited a lack of support from county board executive for his decision.
The Examiner’s John Fogarty put out the statement from the now former Mayo manager.
Stephen Rochford steps downs as #Mayo manager. Statement: #GAA pic.twitter.com/eWUPk0qKGm
— John Fogarty (@JohnFogartyIrl) August 27, 2018
The statement reads:
“After a meeting of the Mayo GAA Board’s Executive Committee last night, held to discuss the management team I had assembled to manage Mayo senior men’s team in 2019, the board issued a statement saying they wished to meet the management team and me about our structure and plans.
“It was apparent from what transpired at that meeting that the desired level of support for me as manager was not forthcoming from the Executive Committee. This disappoints me greatly.
“Accordingly, I see no value in meeting with the officers of the board and am resigning my position as Mayo manager.”
Rochford has been leading the Mayo Gaelic footballers since 2015 and brought them to two Connacht finals. National Football League campaigns often saw them scrapping to retain their Division 1 status but, under him, they often peaked for the summer.
They reached All-Ireland finals in 2016 and 2017 only to be pipped by Dublin. This summer’s campaign was hampered by injuries and a lack of new faces breaking into the senior squad.
Galway defeated them in Connacht, keeping up their winning run against their old rivals, while Kildare beat them in the qualifiers.
There were ominous signs on Sunday when Mayo posted the following update:
Following an executive meeting of Mayo GAA this evening the officers of the board were authorized to meet Stephen Rochford & his management team on their structures & plans for 2019. #mayogaa #gaa
— Mayo GAA (@MayoGAA) August 26, 2018
It was reported, last week, by Mayo News that Rochford would be bringing Peter Forde and Shane Conway into his coaching staff ahead of the 2019 season.
Later on Monday evening, Mayo county board released a statement on Rochford’s decision.
“The officers of Mayo GAA have today been informed by Stephen Rochford that he is stepping down as manager of the Mayo Senior Football team,” it began.
“We sincerely thank Stephen Rochford for all the hard work and commitment he has given to Mayo GAA since he was appointed in 2015. Stephen has given an enormous amount of service to Mayo and has given us as supporters many great days on the pitch.
“Since he became senior team manager he has been involved in three great years for Mayo GAA. He has brought Mayo to two All Ireland finals, losing both by the narrowest of margins. We wish him and his family all the best for the future and thank him for all he has done for Mayo GAA.”
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