Play the game Mayo, not the occasion and not the history

Seamie McGeown, the Crossmaglen trainer, and myself run five or six days a week in Markethill. Seamie would be regularly on the phone with Tony McEntee, whom he worked alongside when the club won the All-Irelands in 2011 and ‘12. Tony and myself? We’d always talk when we see each other but I wouldn’t be bothering him on the blower and he wouldn’t be bothering me.

Recently, Tony sent me a message through Seamie – “Keep writing off Mayo”. He’s not the first person from the Mayo direction to say that to me this year or the first county – I got a lashing from Donegal earlier in the year.

You’ve got to stick with what you believe in. In layman’s terms, I don’t think Mayo are playing well enough to win an All-Ireland. That’s always what I’ve been trying to express when I’m writing. We’re told there are a lot of variables going into this weekend and most of them revolve around Mayo. That there’s one big game in Mayo. That they haven’t performed yet. That they’ve been beating teams while not playing all that well. If that’s what you’re basing Mayo’s chances on, your logic won’t hold water in the heat of battle.