Mayo's Keith Higgins says he'll 'keep going as long as body is able'
Wednesday 19 February 2020 13:32, UK
Few have given as much to Mayo GAA down through the years as Keith Higgins.
The Ballyhaunis man is entering his 16th season with the county's senior footballers, and it wasn't a difficult call to come back once again after the winter.
"It was fairly easy," he explained. "Once I had a chat with James [Horan] back in October or November time it was a fairly easy decision to make.
"If you're being given the opportunity you want to keep going for as long as you can. Once we worked a few things out it was all good to go and I'm looking forward to it again.
"You have to enjoy what you're doing. And if you have that competitive nature then you want to be going out there and testing yourself whether it's in training or its in games. Everyone wants to play games because they enjoy it, but you want to be winning things too.
"I think that competitive streak is definitely a big part of it and I'll keep going as long as the body is still able to go."
I'll keep going as long as the body is still able to go.
It's now 15 years since he first pulled on the green and red jersey, and in that time he has seen the game transform.
"Defending definitely has changed," he outlined. "If you were to go back 10 years ago, there was so much one-on-one stuff that you had to really just look after yourself.
"Then when all the blanket-defences and sweepers came in the game changed. You were defending in a different way with lots of numbers back.
"It's probably come full-circle a small bit now with the new mark rule, but some things won't change. Teams will still try to get numbers back, but you do have to be aware of the mark, especially when the ball is kicked in close to the goals. So, yeah, it's changed, but with the way teams are playing now there are fewer one on ones than when I started playing at this level."
He is yet to see significant action thus far in 2020, with his sole appearance coming late on as a substitute against Donegal.
"Hopefully I might get a bit of game-time again this weekend, we'll see how things go during the week," he said.
"The body is grand. Just a few small bits of niggly injuries I need to get right. Hopefully I'll be all good in a couple of days."
But he's not going to automatically slot back into the side, with other players breaking through looking to nail down starting roles.
"James has brought in new fellas and there's still a lot of experience there with the more established players. You need that mix," commented the four-time All-Star. "For the more experienced players it's great to see young lads coming through with no fear who just go for it. It's about getting the right balance.
"Pádraig [O'Hora] was there last year but didn't get many games. This year, in fairness to him, he's playing and is working his socks off. He's performances are reflecting that hard-work. He's been very solid for us in the last three games.
"Oisín [Mullin] has come in from the U20s and he's a really good footballer with a very good engine. The two boys have been really big additions, especially with a few boys out injured. You need new fellas like this coming through. Hopefully they'll keep going from strength to strength."
Higgins will be hoping to get his season up and running in earnest when Mayo travel to Clones on Sunday, for what looks like a must-win tie against Monaghan.
"It's a huge game. Both of us are on three points," he said. "If you win this one you'll move towards the top of the table but if you lose it you're under pressure for the remainder of the games. So it's going to be a huge one for either team.
"At this stage sometimes performances don't matter. While you'd like to improve all the time, you just want to get the result really in this sort of situation. A huge game for both teams."
