Mayo chairman reveals tears were shed when Pat Holmes and Noel Connelly resigned

It is not the first time Mayo football has made grown men cry and it won't be the last.

The five-in-a-row Connacht Champions are still searching for a new manager after Noel Connelly and Pat Holmes resigned in the face of player unrest, with Corofin manager Stephen Rochford the reported front-runner. They hope to have someone in situ by the third week of November, but if Monday's county board meeting is anything to go by, it could take some parties a while to get over the uprising. This week's Mayo News carries the statement delivered by county chairman Mike Connelly, which illustrates just how high emotions were running when the duo resigned earlier this month.

“At around 7.20, Pat and Noel arrived into the Executive meeting. Pat spoke for 15 to 20 minutes, giving a detailed account of the year. “When he was finished, he handed the letter of resignation, which the [County Board] secretary read out. “As Vincent [Neary] read the letter, I could see some of the Executive getting very emotional, and the tears were running down their faces, and you have to ask ‘Why?’ “They knew that there was a great mistake being made. We don’t know why this all happened, but does it make any difference at this stage? “Knowing the reasons is not going to change anything."

Whether it is Rochford or someone else, it looks like the next man in the Mayo hotseat could be arriving into an interesting environment.