After what was a damaging defeat against Cork, Kevin McStay will have to pick Mayo up for a huge battle against Galway in today's All-Ireland SFC preliminary quarter-final, and it will be real test of McStay's managerial credentials, according to Éamonn Fitzmaurice.
The loss to the Rebels on Sunday last at the TUS Gaelic Grounds meant that Mayo slipped from first to third in their All-Ireland group. Monday's subsequent draw pitted them agains their fierce rivals in Salthill (Live on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player).
"It's the most Mayo thing - lose to Cork and then draw Galway," was Fitzmaurice's summation of the space the Green and Red now find themselves in, when speaking on the latest RTÉ GAA Podcast.
"I think that defeat and the manner of it is really harmful," added the former Kerry star.
Galway also came a cropper on Sunday last, losing top spot in their group after a narrow loss to Armagh.
Expanding further on the Connacht duo's plight, Fitzmaurice said: "Think where they were last Sunday morning. Of course the players were focused on the game ahead but they probably thinking in the back of their minds that they are in a quarter-final.
"To lose the way both teams lost, then to end up playing each other in Salthill where Mayo have a better record in recent times, well it's huge. For the other Sam Maguire pretenders it's great, particularly the teams sitting in the quarter-finals. There's a big gun gone on Sunday evening."
On what's in store now for the Mayo boss, Fitzmaurice outlined a balancing act that his former Sunday Game colleague will now have to perform.
"Kevin McStay so far this year, I think he's managed things exceptionally well. Post Roscommon (Connacht quarter-final), the defeat there, they had time off, came back, and clearly were very focussed on the Kerry game. They were fresh and looked excellent that day.
"This is a real test of his management because there is going to have to be a bit of honest talk about the way they performed in that last 15 minutes against Cork.
"You have to balance that then with playing a huge game against your biggest rivals the following weekend and you need to be brimming with confidence and energy for that. Striking that balance this week will be interesting."
Taking a wider look at what might unfold for the rest of the championship, former Clare boss Colm Collins was a guest on the Podcast, and he sees no standout side in the race for Sam.
"There doesn't seem to be any team putting up their hand and roaring saying that we're going to be All-Ireland champions," he said.
"There has been inconsistency across the board, even from the top teams. And then you look at other teams, one day they'll go out and they'll be excellent, the next day they are ordinary. It's a very difficult one to predict. The one thing I will say is that the four teams that are sitting in the quarter-final, waiting for these four, definitely have an advantage. I think the two weeks is going to make a big difference.
"At the start I thought Galway were really going in the right direction. They seemed to be the team but I think the loss to Armagh could be very costly. It has put them in a bit of trouble that they shouldn't be in."
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Watch Galway v Mayo in the All-Ireland Football Championship on Sunday from 3pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app or listen to live updates on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
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