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The big news of Conor Mortimer’s withdrawal from the Mayo squad earlier this week did not take me by surprise.

Walking into McHale Park last Sunday I met friend and former Leitrim footballer Vinny Wrynne. We chatted briefly about Leitrim’s chances. He suggested that Leitrim had travelled more in hope than any form of confidence. As it transpired Vinny more than likely realised that Leitrim hadn’t a pup’s chance of beating Mayo last Sunday. In fact the scoreline tells the story. There was a period in the second half, such was Mayo’s dominance, when it was hard to believe that this was a Connacht football championship match. The 22 points between the teams at the end of the game only served to underline what was an embarrassing situation for Leitrim in particular and one that clearly does nothing to advance the game in either county. Let me say straight away that no blame should be levelled at the feet of this young Leitrim football team or indeed at their management as they prepared their team to be the best they possibly could be against a Mayo team that is simply at a different level. And, in fairness, Mayo should not be censured for subjecting their opposition to such a humbling annihilation either. Sentimentality rarely comes into play on days like last Sunday even though I was hoping that Kevin McLoughlin would tap the ball over the bar, instead of scoring Mayo’s fourth goal, when put through on the Leitrim goal in the final few minutes. At that stage I was genuinely feeling sorry for the Leitrim players and management, not to mention the loyal Leitrim supporters around me, who persevered right to the very end.

Mayo 4-20

In recent decades there have been a number of inter-county teams that have made real eye catching progress. Dublin, Tyrone, Armagh, Kerry and Cork are the obvious selection in this regard and they, more than most, have brought a new dimension to the whole area of team sacrifice and all year round physical preparation. In fairness, Mayo football has also moved up a gear or two and if nothing else we are a team that few will ever take for granted. But I get the impression that we are just about hanging on to the coat tails of the top three or four teams in the country right now. On the evidence of the matches I have witnessed so far this year, I need some convincing from Sundays encounter with Leitrim that we deserve to be talked about in the same breath as Dublin, Cork and, believe it or not, Donegal. I watched the Ulster champions play Derry last Saturday and those of you who saw Derry’s inept performance will agree that they (Derry) are a team in serious decline. But it was the performance of Donegal that was the main talking point of the encounter. They played a terrific brand of open flowing football that suggests they have stepped up a level from last year. It should be a fascinating Ulster semi-final between themselves and Tyrone in a week’s time. But I am digressing!

The Mayo Senior Football team to face Leitrim in the Connacht Senior Football Championship semi-final this Sunday June 24 at 3.30pm in Elverys MacHale Park is as follows:

I was in Dublin last Sunday morning to do a slot with Today FM on the football season ahead, more of which later. I rushed home from Dublin anxious to get back in time for the club championship matches; Crossmolina v Ballinrobe and Ballina v Westport. The big shock for me from all of the fixtures last weekend was the score line from the first game in Crossmolina.

This weekend heralds the start of everything that 16 sides have been preparing for since Ballintubber claimed the Moclair cup for a second year in a row last autumn. Since that moment, everyone else has been looking forward to trying to knock the champions off their perch. The talk over the winter was of the old reliables having a crack, the likes of Knockmore, Ballina, and Castlebar being the kind of sides who could put a dent in Ray Prendergast Park ambitions for three in a row.

Our Mayo side was once again placed under the whitest of lights in Croke Park and we all once again waited for coronations. Then the seemingly inevitable uncorked the vitriol. It started in the stands with several around me shaking their heads and leaving long before the final whistle. It is not a nice thing, from a player’s point of view, to see ‘your’ supporters walking out before the game has finished. It is their (the supporters) signal to the players that, for them at least, the show is over.

Cork 2-10

On the far side of the field from the stand in McHale Park, on a Sunday evening just five weeks ago, Mayo manager James Horan told the massed press pack: “The masterplan doesn’t change just because of a few defeats - if you start to change it then panic sets in. We know what we’re trying to do, it’s a bumpy road, but we’ll keep at it.”