One round of fixtures into the Allianz Football League and already Pat Spillane did not like the signs coming from the Mayo panel.
After Stephen Rochford's side lost to Monaghan in their opening game of the league a fortnight ago, Spillane said on RTÉ's League Sunday highlights show that Mayo had been 'bullied' by a Monaghan team which looked far more up for the occasion than the home side. Spillane had been expecting more from the men in green and red. He added that unless Mayo find two more 'marquee' forwards and improve their attacking play, 'they're never going to win an All-Ireland.'
The following week, as fate would have it, Mayo were scheduled to take on Spillane's native county Kerry in Tralee. After an opening half where Kerry were profligate in front of goal but still held a healthy lead, Mayo became far more competitive in the second 35 minutes. They would eventually win by two.
'Their keyboard warriors had a field day at my expense,' declared Spillane in his Sunday World column today. He also rebuffed suggestions that he had not appeared on League Sunday last weekend because he did not want to talk about Kerry's loss to Mayo. Spillane says he was not scheduled to appear.
The Kerryman stood behind his League Sunday comments, saying that they were 'based on facts' and had some mitigating circumstances for Kerry's defeat such as four players making their league debuts.
He also had three stats for Mayo fans regarding their team's forward play: 1. They have not scored a goal in the league (though we are only two games into the campaign). 2. Cillian O'Connor has been responsible for over 60% of Mayo's scores and half of those have been from placed balls. 3. The 11 forwards who have lined out for Mayo so far in the league have scored just nine points.
There may be a flaw in Spillane's final stat. Presumably, those players do not include Cillian O'Connor. Other than O'Connor, Mayo forwards have accounted for 10 points in their two league games.
Spillane concluded his column with a message for Mayo fans.
My message to all the Mayo fans out there is simple: don't be jumping on your high horses every time I criticise the team.
Forget about the messenger and instead focus on addressing shortcomings.
Remember, as well, that while one defeat doesn't necessarily make Mayo a bad team, one victory doesn't make them a great side either.
And what happens in February will certainly be long forgotten come September.
