Cillian O'Connor is confident Mayo's young guns will adapt to the intense demands of inter-county fooball after a chastening winter experience.
Earlier this month, an experimental Mayo team - which included seven debutants - was beaten by London in the FBD League at the University of Galway Connacht GAA Air Dome.
Manager Kevin McStay pulled no punches in the aftermath, warning the squad's fringe players that "opportunities don't go on forever" when it comes to staking a claim for a place in the panel.
O'Connor scored a goal off the bench in that loss to the Exiles. One of Mayo's most seasoned and reliable campaigners, the 31-year-old admitted there were some frank discussions in the wake of the defeat, but he also offered some perspective as McStay's charges prepare for their Allianz Football League opener against Galway on Sunday.
"You don't consciously decide that you're going to force conversations with lads, but it probably does happen naturally in the dressing room, that you find yourself chatting with younger players," he said at the launch of this year's league campaign.
"You do strike up those kind of conversations. If we lose a training game and we're sitting beside each other we're p****d off. Yeah we would have had a few chats after the [London] match. A lot of our players, it might have been their first time representing Mayo... it's all part of a learning curve.
"Obviously we were very disappointed not to have won the game but it's the same as anything, we reviewed it, management facilitated a review, went through it and we know certain parts weren't good enough."
The demands on inter-county players have never been as intense; nor has the spotlight been so brutally unforgiving. But O'Connor insists Mayo's conveyor belt of talent is producing footballars with the ability and character to flourish.
"The players that come into inter-county set-ups tend to be high achievers and tend to be really ambitious lads," he said.
"I can only speak about the players I've encountered over the last few years, or even myself coming in at that age. You want to challenge, you want to push yourself. You're maybe a little bit nervous or whatever but it's a decision you make yourself to go down that road.
"Getting to hang around with other players, chat with lads from other clubs and see the level of expertise in our management, it's a buzz more than anything else.
"It's obviously not going to happen overnight. You're not going to come from outside to inside and suddenly know everything, and the lads know that. There's a huge appetite for learning and hunger from the young lads, they've all taken to it really well."
Mayo won the Division 1 league title last year but slumped to a 12-point loss against Dublin the All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals. They'll expect better out west in 2024, but first McStay's men must come through the wild league action of spring.
"It's a chance to really nail your weak-side handpass or kickpass in the mucky conditions."
As storm follows storm in a typically bleak Irish January, the notion of playing more games inside Bekan's dome seems pretty palatable, but O'Connor doesn't quite see it that way.
Tougher conditions allow the very best players to show just how good they are, he argues.
"Obviously as a spectacle, a game can be affected by a gale force wind going down one direction but as players you try and see the opportunity in that," he stressed.
"I would say the better skilled players are going to still excel. It's a chance to really nail your weak-side handpass or kickpass in the mucky conditions.
"That's a sign of a really good player when they can still win breaking ball in the muck, or still execute a proper pickup off their left foot when they're under pressure in the muck and the rain.
"I know as a spectacle it might take away from it, but you still see some unbelievable Allianz League games this time of year, albeit slightly different to the summer fare.
"I'm kind of excited to see how we get on and manage these games in these conditions."
Watch Kerry v Derry in the Allianz Football League on Saturday from 5pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to updates on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
Watch highlights on Allianz League Sunday on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from 9.30pm, follow a live blog every Sunday afternoon on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live updates on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
