Mayo tipped for All-Ireland glory

A FORMER All-Ireland winning manager believes this might be the year Mayo end their long wait for All-Ireland glory.

Jim McGuinness, whose Donegal side beat Mayo in the final to win the 2012 All-Ireland Championship, feels Mayo can end their 69-year wait for Sam Maguire.

Fellow pundits Peter Canavan and Kieran Donaghy each tipped Kerry and Dublin respectively to win the All-Ireland, but were both in agreement with McGuinness that Mayo would at minimum win the Connaught championship.

"I know it's a wee bit left-field," Jim McGuinness told Sky Sports' Inside The Game.

"Galway have been fantastic throughout the National League, I know they have tailed off recently. But they have played a serious brand of football. The way they are kicking the ball into the full-forward line, people being able to win it, and their scores that they are putting up are very significant.

"I think that if Galway and Mayo end up in a Connacht final, that will be a really, really good game of football. But if Mayo do come out of Connacht, then in theory they would be meeting Kerry in an All-Ireland semi-final. I don't think Mayo would fear Kerry in an All-Ireland semi-final, to be honest with you.

"They looked in serious nick. I think that they do really well when they get to Croke Park. They haven't really played badly in Croke Park. I know that they have lost a lot of finals, but they were all narrow, narrow wins to one of the best teams that have ever played the game. I just think if they can get back to that stage, they won't fear Kerry.

"And that puts them then within 70 minutes of an All-Ireland final. Whether it is the new Dublin team, Donegal or Tyrone at that stage coming out of Ulster, they won't fear anybody. It is an outside bet, but I think realistically they have a chance of doing something positive this year."

You can watch the full clip here: