Horan’s charges primed for the big leap forward

The word “we” is an important one for Mayo right now. When James Horan uses “we” he means it. Listen to his radio and TV interviews in the build-up to tomorrow and you can hear the emphasis when he uses it.

There are managers who utter it without conviction but Horan says it with absolute authority. Everyone who is on board, and that includes the late return of Rob Hennelly, is on message. The bond that exists in the camp is the strongest it’s ever been. From the night they lost to Donegal last September, they swore to get back to another All-Ireland final.

Of course, when Horan says “we” he means his men, both in front of him on the pitch and behind him on the line, but there’s the other “we”, which is the county. This is a team for supporters to be proud of, one which they are keen to take ownership of.

However, the hype factor that was absent prior to last year’s All-Ireland final is well and truly permeating the county now. Because of the emphatic nature of their victories, there’s a glorious destiny already being attributed to the team.

Over 140 minutes away from winning an All-Ireland title, that’s a pretty weighty expectation to put on 20 sets of shoulders and as much as we hear of how the players have made themselves hermits and recluses they can’t but notice it.

Tyrone must look at the 2/7 odds being slapped on Mayo to progress and wonder. Had they been in the same boots as Mayo earlier this month, they would have beaten Donegal. Maybe not to the extent Mayo did but Tyrone would have put the ailing champions out of their misery.

As the only backdoor team left in the competition and reaching this stage from round one, Mickey Harte has found out plenty about his team in the best way possible — learning while winning.

Their last three victories have all come by way of two points and there’s no question of them not being battle-hardened as much as they, like Mayo, have only beaten one Division 1 side.

The deployment of Joe McMahon as a sweeper has been extremely effective and the free role suits him right now as he continues his season-long battle with a hip injury.

So pushing him into midfield to try and negate the O’Sheas’ aerial ability mightn’t be a runner. Were Aidan Cassidy up to 70 minutes, he would be the right candidate for that role but is not fully fit.

Matthew Donnelly can be expected to put in a performance after suffering from flu the last day. Then again, Colm Boyle will give him plenty of questions going forward himself.

But if Donnelly should improve, what about Andy Moran and Alan Dillon who are only growing stronger with the more game-time they’re getting after quiet springs because of injuries?

Mayo are playing with a verve and a swagger. Tyrone have been battling. If we want to know if Mayo are ready to take the big leap the evidence will be on show tomorrow, not in a quarter-final where they were never going to be lacking motivation against Donegal.

Verdict: Mayo