Mayo's Ryan O'Donoghue insists they are not far away despite 2023 disappointment, Seán Kelly welcomes return of key men for Galway

Kevin McStay's first year in charge of Mayo yielded a Division 1 league title but ended with a heavy loss to their old tormentors in the All-Ireland quarter-final.

The conclusive manner of the exit to Dublin suggested that Mayo's All-Ireland prospects had receded, though Ryan O'Donoghue insists they're still not far away from the promised land.

"I don't think I'd be training and putting my life on hold, and making all these sacrifices if I didn't think we were one of the top teams in the country," O'Donoghue told RTÉ Sport this week.

"We've a lot to get better at. We did well during the league last year, but obviously the second half against Dublin was not good enough. We went in at half-time there or thereabouts other than the goal that sucker-punched us.

"Dublin went on to win the All-Ireland so we know we're not far off."

The match carried echoes of the 2019 All-Ireland semi-final, with Mayo right there at half-time before being poleaxed by a third-quarter blitz, effectively killing the game as a contest.

At half-time, O'Donoghue - who kicked five first half points, three from play - described the feeling in the dressing room as one of "optimism."

"I thought we were the better team in the first half. We had more scoring opportunities and didn't take our goals. And then Dublin got the goal to go one point up. We were right in the game.

"I wouldn't say it was (Dublin) cranking up the gears. We just did not perform, we gave the ball away and let them through the middle. There were a lot of factors that decided it but obviously when you're in Croke Park and you hear the Hill turn up the volume, and you're trying to turn the tide, it's not nice. But it's up to us to make sure it doesn't happen again."

The 2019 semi-final was taken