• “Moran is a huge supporter of the Tailteann Cup! “
• Sligo didn’t even get a championship game two years ago, but they got one last year.

Andy Moran is an Irish Gaelic football manager and former Ballaghaderreen and Mayo county team player. Andy Moran speaks with local media following the Tailteann Cup Quarter-Final on Sunday.

Leitrim’s lot may have been defeat, and it’s difficult to shake the feeling that the Green & Gold were slightly robbed last Sunday, but the overarching feeling leaving Avant Money Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada was that the county footballers finally have the foundations in place to go places.

At least, that’s the analogy Andy Moran used after Sunday’s dramatic Tailteann Cup Quarter-Final loss to Sligo on penalties following a pulsating encounter that ended 2-16 to 1-19 after extra-time: “Of course, results dictate everything,” Andy said when asked about the future, “but you have to lay the groundwork first.” The foundation for the house is in place today; now it is time to go build the house.”

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The Leitrim manager made the point after being asked to reflect on Leitrim’s year in general and whether the phrase “so near and yet so far” could sum up the Green & Gold’s year: “I don’t think it’s too soon to inquire.” I talk to all of you guys throughout the League, and our first goal is to win a game.

“There are times when we wish to go from having no money to being a millionaire.” Sometimes you have to do the building blocks, every good team has to do the building blocks – Pat Gilroy didn’t just take over Dublin and start winning All-Irelands, it took them two or three years.

“We hadn’t won a game with our boys, and we probably weren’t in shape to win a game.” We go away, win our first game against Tipperary, then lose three games in a row! When was the last time Leitrim won three games in a row? It was in 2019, so give yourself some breathing room.”

Even if pride was restored to the county’s footballing fans, the former Footballer of the Year admitted that the defeat was difficult to swallow: “As a football team, you always want to win, don’t you, and at the start of the year, we wanted to win something.” It will not take place in 2022.

“But the second part is to get a team that the people of Leitrim can be proud of, and at the end of that game, all through normal time and extra time, you can see a team that suddenly kids all over Leitrim can follow.”

Moran is a huge supporter of the Tailteann Cup! “I always say that whatever you do in life, you can’t get better at it unless you do it, so you can’t get better at playing football matches and seeing out games unless you do it.” Sligo didn’t even get a championship game two years ago, but they got one last year.

“Last year, we had four games in total; this year, we’ve played 11, won six, lost four, and I’m not sure if today counts as a draw or a loss.” But it just goes to show how good these two teams can be if they are allowed to play football.

“I’m not saying the Tailteann Cup is perfect in any way, shape, or form, but it’s a start.” We’ve been training for four weeks now since we were eliminated from the Connacht Championship, and that month has really helped us. You’ve seen Monaghan, Tyrone, and now Leitrim all get knocked out of the championship on the same day, so it gives you a chance to progress and play more games.”

Even simply continuing to train for another month after the championship loss to Galway had advantages: “Who knew Jordan Reynolds existed two weeks ago?” Nobody knew about him before, but now everyone does. I got a 1-1 today, and we talked about him after the last game; he’s a really good talent.

“Unfortunately, Paul Keaney has had a few injuries in the last few weeks, but an extraordinary talent, Oisin McLoughlin, will hopefully prove that.” These guys have football in them and want to show it.

“Jordan has two games there now, he wasn’t fit for the majority of the year, he gets fit, all of a sudden he is in, gets two games, and he scores 1-2 in two games – what an introduction.”

“Today was the game, the one in Markievicz was a dead rubber, the game in the dome was a good bit of craic, but today was the game and I think it shows where the two teams are at,” he said, referring to the two meetings earlier this year. They didn’t have Murphy, and we didn’t have Casey, the best players on both teams, so it evened out. We didn’t have Ryan for long stretches, so it just shows how far the team can go.

“If you look at our Division 4 bellwethers, if you had a bet on it beforehand, Cavan was number one, Tipp was number two, and then Sligo completed with 10 points, they were the next best, so we need to chase them down.” It’s saddening for us that we haven’t beaten them since 2011, so when we play them in the League next year, it tends to add a little extra spice, doesn’t it?”