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The Galway senior footballers have the opportunity of bouncing straight back division to one this Sunday when they face Kildare in Pearse Stadium (2.30pm) in the final round of the league.

It was good to see the Galway footballers fight back from a bad position in the first half in Pearse Park, Longford, last Sunday and claim a crucial two points against Monaghan.

Galway head to Cusack Park in Mullingar on Sunday (2.30pm) for a crucial game against Westmeath in division two of the NFL. If Galway win, they will have five points in the bag and will have taken a huge step in maintaining their status for the coming year.

Every journey must have a starting point and Alan Mulholland’s reign as Galway senior manager takes its first tentative steps on a national stage when his young side takes on Derry in round one of division two of the National Football League on Sunday at 2.30pm.

Galway football supporters will have their last opportunity to see Alan Mulholland’s new-look side in competitive action on home soil for a few weeks when they take on Sligo this Sunday at Tuam Stadium (2pm) in the final round of the FBD league.

I recall watching the Irish rugby team playing a Triple Crown match in 1985 against England. The match was very much in the balance with minutes left on the clock. It was at a critical juncture in the game that team captain Ciaran Fitzgerald demanded his team step up to the plate with his by now (in) famous line “where’s your f***ing pride?” The team responded and delivered a magnificent final few minutes to beat England on that day. I have no doubt that Fitzgerald’s leadership was crucial to that victory. Mayo football is, to some extent, at a similar juncture right now. We need leadership both on and off the field and, more than anything else, we need to display a bit of f***ing pride and heart. After last year’s championship defeats to Sligo and Longford we need to resurrect our reputation before we slip into a downward spiral of mediocrity that could prove difficult to shake off were it to continue. Mayo looked very sluggish and tired last year and some critics even suggested that they did not appear to be playing for one another. This season, however, we retained our division one status with some credible gutsy performances but appeared to hit a dip again a few weeks before the London match.

Tomás Ó Flatharta will lead Galway into championship action for the first time this Sunday when his side takes on Mayo in McHale Park at 2pm in the Connacht semi-final.

This is a very attractive championship fixture and the city rivalry between the two sides should get a good crowd into the stadium on Saturday evening.

There were 10 championship games in the county football championship last weekend with all 20 senior clubs in action. Unusually with that many games down for decision, there were no draws and the winning teams now advance to round three.

Galway supporters left Tuam Stadium on Sunday afternoon with leaden hearts. The players and the management team must also have been mortified by the second-half collapse which was of epic proportions.