I won’t be blinded by admiration of Mayo spirit

IF I had any doubt about the passion of Mayo supporters, it was well and truly removed last Sunday evening.

I took a bit of a dunting – my personal favourite was that I should follow Paul Galvin into writing about fashion rather than football – in the aftermath of last week’s column when I suggested that losing to Donegal would herald the beginning of the end for their great team.

It did not turn out that way, but you would have to be one-eyed – or perhaps have no eye at all – not to acknowledge the good fortune which saw Donegal spurn a gilt-edge chance to kill the game with their final attack.

Referee Anthony Nolan also missed the 12 steps Kevin McLoughlin took to Mayo’s survival heaven. But what I absolutely acknowledge is the spirit of this Mayo team – it is a quality I admire so much – and I doff the hat to how they found a way to dig themselves out of a hole.

But my admiration does not blind me to the reality that this is a team living on borrowed time, and that clock is ticking ever louder because of their failure to develop new talent to provide them with the depth they so desperately need.

Their failure to do that will cost them in the chase for the ultimate prize.

And if I am wrong about that, well then tune in here where I will be advising that green and red are the perfect colours to set off any outfit.