Paul Clancy praises attitude of Galway's squad on journey to final

The last time Galway were All-Ireland football champions, Paul Clancy was part of the squad.

The former Galway footballer won All-Ireland titles with the Tribesmen in 1998 and 2001, but it would be a long time before Galway would be part of football's biggest show-piece.

However, this young team have changed Galway's fortunes, competing in their second All-Ireland final in three years, and winning three Connacht titles in a row.

For Clancy, he has been impressed by how Padraic Joyce has built a young, exciting team to compete among the best in the country.

“Getting to the All-Ireland in 2022, I thought we had a huge opportunity to win that one", said Clancy.

"Everybody was disappointed after that, but he has built the team. I think he recognises what he needs to win the All-Ireland, he has been building a team and panel over the last number of years. I think we've a lot more strength in depth, that we mightn't have had in 2022.

“When you see the players that have come in this year and developed. Also, I think we've done well out of the U20 team, a lot of those lads are coming through.

“You've mentioned our group coming through from minor and U21 as it was at the time, when you go into a senior panel, and you've a large number of lads that you played with underage, it can translate quite nicely into senior football.”

For Galway, the theme of this season is not knowing when they are beaten.

In April, a shock looked on the cards in the Connacht semi-final, before a last minute goal rescued victory against Sligo.

In the final, Mayo looked set for another win in Salthill, but Galway dug deep, with goalkeeper Conor Gleeson kicking the winning score.

In arguably the biggest shock of the season, Dublin looked to be in control in