OPINION: Mayo need statement of intent as championship gets serious

AFTER the disappointment of defeat in the Connacht Final against Galway, Mayo must dust themselves down and go again with the prospect of three big championship clashes during the Round Robin stage of the championship in the coming weeks.

Kevin McStay's men have the perfect opportunity to get the show back on the road next Sunday afternoon when they welcome Cavan to Hastings Insurance MacHale Park.

The sides met at the very same stage of the competition last year when Mayo won comfortably and they are hot favourites with the bookies to repeat that victory on Sunday afternoon.

However, the same bookmakers are not giving Mayo a realistic chance of challenging for Sam Maguire this year, as they have them as joint-seventh favourites for All-Ireland glory and are priced at a huge 22/1.

Outsiders

IT has been a long time since Mayo were that big of a price in the race for Sam Maguire with Kerry now considered the favourites followed by last year's defeated finalists Galway.

Donegal, Armagh, Tyrone and Dublin are all priced at less that 10-1 with Monaghan joining Mayo at 22s and surprise Leinster final winners Louth next at 33s.

Mayo won't mind in the slightest that they are not being considered serious contenders and if anything, with the pressure off, they will be hoping to bring their A game against Cavan and put in a proper performance.

They played some really good football against Galway in the third quarter and a repeat of that type of display should be good enough to get the two points on Sunday.

They then face a tricky tie when they travel to Omagh to play Tyrone and they now know their final opponents in the Round Robin stage after Donegal defeated Armagh in a pulsating Ulster Final on Saturday evening. Mayo will face Donegal at a neutral venue in what is sure to be a big test of their title aspirations.

Three other ties are down for decision in the championship at the weekend with two other Connacht sides also in action. Roscommon make the trip to take on title favourites Kerry on Saturday afternoon while all eyes will be on Salthill later on Saturday evening when Dublin take on Galway.

The other fixture down for decision on Sunday sees two of the championship outsiders take on each other when Down travel to Ennis to play Clare.

Performance needed

MAYO will most of all be looking for a performance on Sunday to get their season back on track. It would be a big boost to get captain Paddy Durcan back on the pitch but there are injury concerns about Diarmuid O'Connor and Eoghan McLoughlin.

In the condensed season when games come thick and fast, there are always going to be niggles and knocks but there was a strong look to the Mayo bench against Galway and some of those players may be given the chance to prove their worth against Cavan.

It was really good to see MacHale Park almost packed to capacity for the Galway game, and while it's unlikely that there will be 27,000 in Castlebar next Sunday, there should again be a large Mayo following, particularly if the fine weather we are enjoying continues into the weekend.

Mayo will be hoping to get two points on the board and set themselves up for what should be two great games against Tyrone and Donegal. There certainly is some great action to look forward to for the next few weeks.