Ryan O’Donoghue believes Mayo should harness the “underdog mentality” to bounce back from Sunday’s Connacht SFC defeat to Roscommon.
Mayo’s provincial championship aspirations ended in Castlebar at the weekend when they suffered a 10-point semi-final loss to their neighbours.
Andy Moran’s side had led by three points at the break but were completely outplayed and outfought in the second half by Roscommon. But O’Donoghue hopes there will be a strong response from the Mayo players now as they prepare for the All-Ireland series.
“It’s on us, and (we’ve) just got to bring back that underdog mentality now, because we are underdogs. I’m looking forward to the opportunity over the next four weeks to see what we can do.”
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Despite the setback, the Belmullet man feels Mayo have the talent to compete against the top teams in the country.
“It’s the reason I’m putting my life on hold and training seven days a week. If I didn’t believe that, I’d be away sunning myself in Australia like everyone else,” he says.
“So, I do believe that. (But) we have to earn the right now to talk about going to the top table, because we just haven’t been there over the last couple of years, and that’s the goal.”
O’Donoghue reckons there are areas they can improve on before the All-Ireland series commences.
“I think we were good in the first half on Sunday and then just the third quarter, after half-time, we just never seemed to get to the pitch of the game. We lost the kickout battle, lost the ground battle, and we just weren’t able to claw it back.
“We have a lot of things to work on, we were way too open when we lost a kickout. Kickouts didn’t go to plan on the day, Roscommon put on a good press and they figured out what we were doing, so we have a lot to work on over the next four weeks.
“To be fair to Roscommon, they’re a good side, they had a great league and have some great forwards.”
If there was one positive for Mayo, it was the performance of teenage debutant Kobe McDonald, who was their most impressive forward last Sunday, finishing the game with 0-6.
“Eighteen years of age and he was the one taking the game to Roscommon in that second half, it’s outstanding,” says O’Donoghue. “He’s a great lad and it’s great to play with him and we’re delighted to have him for as long as we do.
“He’s so mature, you would not think he’s 18 years of age – that score he got in the second half, a dummy solo twice and then blasted it over the bar, he’s brilliant.
“Just a great lad and he’s very humble. He’s great to have around the group and we’re just delighted to have him at the moment.”
*O’Donoghue was speaking at the launch of SuperValu’s continued sponsorship of the football championship.
