In his first stint as Mayo manager, James Horan never knew a 10-point defeat.
Now he’s had to process two in the space of four weeks after Kerry ransacked them in Killarney and Dublin inflicted their third loss of the campaign with an awesome second half showing on Saturday.
The nature of the two losses were different as Mayo were never in the game against Kerry but on Saturday there was a giddy air of anticipation as they went off at half-time leading by two points, the endorsement of their supporters ringing in their ears.
And then it all fell asunder.
“They definitely pinned back their ears a little bit and ran at us when they got the ball,” said Horan. “They probably weren't doing that as much in the first half.
“Just they got a step on us a couple of times for some of those goals and they finished them very well.”
The one thing that Mayo had over most other teams that line up against Dublin is the confidence of having been highly competitive with them on a regular basis. There were no maulings to report until now and, with many of their players at the back end of their careers, convincing them that they can still turn the Dubs over will be a stretch for Horan.
“Ah yeah, of course it will be hard,” he admitted. There's no question there'll be changes in that Mayo group for next year. I think that's clear but that will take its own course.
“We've a huge amount of players, young players, that are involved this year, and new players.
“If we use that right today, that's a real learning to see where the top standard is. We have to use it that way, otherwise it's a hopeless cause. But we'll learn from today.
“A lot of new guys on the 26, and a lot of guys outside the 26 that are pushing hard that didn't make it today. Today would be a significant learning for those guys.”
Horan lamented their taxing schedule this summer, albeit Mayo didn’t help themselves by once again failing to win Connacht.
“If you think about the journey we've been on this year and apply any common sense to it, the turnaround that they're asking amateur players to do is crazy.
“I didn't really mention it all year, I'm not at all in any way using it as an excuse but you know, coming back from games at 2am in the morning and guys being in work on a Monday and just what we're asking players to do is very, very tough.”
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