New Mayo manager Kevin McStay is "very hopeful" Lee Keegan will commit to the county for the 2023 after admitting he has "cajoled" the veteran at length to postpone any thoughts of retirement.
Mayo had their first outing of the year, and under McStay, in a challenge match win over Sligo in Ballina yesterday.
The new boss ran the rule over some new faces as he looks to build a challenge for an All-Ireland title this season.
Keegan was absent with the experienced defender still mulling over whether he should continue his inter-county career.
McStay feels the soundings are positive from Keegan but that "we need to see him fairly soon" if he is to be part of their season.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport, the Mayo manager said: "We're very hopeful. That question is not answered yet but it is going to be answered pretty soon.
"We've obviously met and cajoled him and coaxed him and got him into headlocks and kicked him and did whatever we could with him. But it's a big decision for him.
"He has a young family. But we are hopeful. I don't have to tell you the sort of player Lee Keegan is or what he means to this county. We would love to have him and we'll know very soon.
"We've given him all the information we could. We've mapped out to him what his season could look like and that all parties would be happy with. We've helped him any way we can and we need to see him fairly soon I think please God (if he is to be part of it)."
The 1-20 to 1-09 victory over Sligo was the first game of what will be a busy time for counties this year.
Mayo begin their FBD League campaign in mid-January before the start of the league and the Connacht championship rolls around shortly after the conclusion of Division 1.
McStay admitted that there has been a need for detailed fitness regimes in the winter in other to be ready for what is to come.
"The challenge we have is the week on week calendar once the ball is thrown in at the end of January. We have to be ready for that workload over six or hopefully seven months. We want to get to the end of the season like all the top teams.
"The pre-season became huge and we put that challenge in front of the players two months ago. Before we could even come together guys had to be off doing their own work and getting ready for the season. We're very satisfied with that. They've put in a good effort."
The possible run of league game, final and Connacht Championship game all within three weeks is something McStay is acutely aware of for his side as the new calendar season becomes an issue for managers.
He is keen to see his side start their Allianz League division with points on the board early in order to be in a comfortable position come the closing matches rather than needing a strong finish.
"It's a tough one to know what we want other than to win every game. Strategically what you want to do in the league kind of looks after itself, or we think it does anyway. We'll see where we after four or five games.
"The run-in for Mayo is a little bit awkward shall we say because the league final and the closing league game are week-on-week and the following week is the Connacht Championship.
"We have to be careful how we plan that particular effort. In the first instance, Galway at the end of the month is a big fixture at home. We want to give a good account of ourselves obviously, put ourselves out there as contenders in the province, and we'll be aiming to do that.
"With a bit of momentum things could look after themselves and maybe after four or five matches then we can stand back and have a look and see where we are in the overall picture."
