Recalling Ruislip nightmare ahead of Connacht opening

There's been plenty of reflection on Mayo's 13th league title after a win over their great rivals but for the weekend that's in it, I wanted to reminisce about the great near-disaster of Ruislip, 2011.

James Horan's managerial career flashed before his eyes that day and was nearly done before it started. As he's often said, it probably would have been one of the quickest firings of an inter-county manager in the history of Gaelic football.

Mayo had been knocked out of the championship by Longford the summer before and John O'Mahony had departed. A load of us were new to the set-up. It was a bracing, unforgettable first experience of senior championship football.

From the start to finish, it was an absolute s***show. And yet in the end, in a strange way, it wound up being the greatest lesson we ever got as a team. A reminder of how to prepare properly and never ever take a team for granted.

The logistics were a nightmare. Instead of taking the most straightforward route, we took the cheapest route. We ended up flying from Galway to Waterford, then Waterford to Southend. So, two flights.

Then we had a three-hour bus journey to the hotel in Watford on top of that. Even waiting for the flights, lads were eating chips and ice-creams. The day before the game, James met a gang of our lads coming out of the shop in Watford with Magnum ice-creams and jellies and chocolate and whatnot. All in all, it didn't scream elite high performance.

That set the tone for the weekend. It was seen as a trip of leisure rather than a trip of work.

When we got into Ruislip on Sunday, it was just a carnival. There was a smell of barbecue, pints of Bulmers (or Magners?) were being gulped down by the spectators, most of whom were in Mayo tops. It had a real