Dowd says that new players have put their hands up for selection

Much of the national attention was focused on a weekend of cracking All-Ireland club semi-finals, pitch inspections and postponements. Consequently, it almost felt as if Mark Dowd’s first competitive game as Roscommon manager slipped under the radar.

Not that the new bainisteoir would care much, but in a season that new blood will be needed to fill the void left by the retirements of Donie Smith, Ciaráin Murtagh and Niall Daly, Roscommon kickstarted their 2026 journey with a win that was the definition of routine.

Of course, an FBD League game on January 4th against a hard working but ultimately outclassed Leitrim side wasn’t the acid test, but there was much to like about how Roscommon quietly, with assurance, went about their business.

Dowd was of a similar mindset following his side’s comfortable victory at the Connacht Centre of Excellence.

“It was the first day out. The team we went with, you saw it was a mixture of guys that have experience and new fresh faces. A lot of guys put their hands up and put in a solid shift. That is what you want to get out of these games.

“I suppose we didn’t know whether the game was going to go ahead at one stage but we did put some good moves together and we had some good phases of play. We are happy with that. We left a couple (goals) behind us, so there’s plenty to work on as well,” he noted.

With Mayo the visitors this Sunday to King and Moffatt Dr. Hyde Park, a second win would set up a crack at retaining the title Roscommon claimed in 2024. With that in mind, Dowd noted that even though the final is fixed to be played the week before his side commence their Division One League campaign in Killarney, he feels that Roscommon must attack next Sunday’s affair.

“If you get to that third round and you are in an FBD League final or whatever it is going to be, that is another good competitive game, so that is the way we will work on it. 

We will take our focus for the first few weeks in terms of what we want to get out of the FBD and start looking forward to National League from there,” he stated.

With the St. Brigid’s contingent out of the reckoning for another few weeks, Dowd insists that the newcomers trying to break through must use this time wisely.

“We have a panel of 34 guys there. They are training at the moment, outside of the Strokestown and St. Brigid’s lads we are missing. After Brigid’s winning today, we will be without them for a while.

“The lads know themselves they are in the shop window to put their hand up and be in contention for a league start, so they know they have to perform — not only on game day but on Wednesday and Friday night alongside Sunday mornings at training. That is really where they really need to put their hands up,” he concluded.