'They have a nice balance' - McMahon talks up Mayo's chances

On the eve of Mayo's recent league clash with Dublin, Philly McMahon, in his Irish Independent column, stated: "There were always certain Mayo players that were easy to wind up.

"You could take them out of their stride because they were more concerned with being seen to be standing up to you than sticking to what they were supposed to be doing."

Honest observations in the view of the eight-times All-Ireland winner, while many fans in the Connacht county were irked.

Speaking at the launch of Darkness into Light, the annual fundraising event organised by Pieta and supported by Electric Ireland, McMahon, who called time in his inter-county career last autumn, was again asked for his thoughts on Mayo, this time to look forward.

James Horan's side are unbeaten so far in the league, with one of their victories coming against Dublin at Croke Park. That consecutive victory over the Dubs, coupled with the emergence of new leaders, gives McMahon a sense that Mayo will be "strong contenders" this year.

"The Dublin thing is not hanging over them to the same extent now," he said.

"They've beaten Dublin twice consecutively. They have now got new leaders in the group. The old leaders in the group are probably strengthening the bench to an extent. The new leaders don't have the history of being beaten in big games, to an extent. Maybe last year or the year before, they only experienced it.

"Those things make a difference. When I first got on the Dublin team, I was playing with a lot of lads who'd been beaten well by Tyrone, Kerry. I didn't really care about Tyrone and Kerry, without disrespecting them, I didn't have that pain from them."

The Ballymun Kickhams clubman does add that a few of the Mayo 'old guard' have still much to offer and that