Kevin McStay says that Mayo's attention will quickly turn to the Connacht SFC and a trip to the Big Apple after they finished the defence of their Allianz Football League Division 1 crown with a victory over Monaghan at Clones.
A strong finish, capped by Matthew Ruane's goal, helped them to pick up their fourth win of the spring although they were already out of the running for a final place before today's action.
While the defence of their league title came up short, McStay was satisfied that they won more games than they lost, with just two weeks to go before they make their provincial bow.
"People think there's nothing to play for in these last round games in terms of relegation or promotion," he began, speaking on RTÉ's Sunday Sport.
"Lots of players on both sides, two weeks out from championship you can imagine they're all trying to stake their claims.
"With that you get a fairly competitive [game]. Now, it was a touch off championship action but the endeavour was there throughout the game. There was never more than two or three points between us.
"We got the nudge coming down the home stretch, the goal that obviously changed it but Monaghan were still buoyant at that stage and came back at us.
"Happy to get the two points because it moves us to eight points. When I reflect on it overall, the trip to Kerry we might have got something, at Omagh we could have done better.
"We know we could have accumulated a decent number of points if the league was our total focus. We went after everything but at league pace."
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While the Munster and Leinster championships have both been seen as a procession for Kerry and Dublin in recent years, Connacht is a different story with Galway, Mayo and Roscommon winning titles in the last five seasons.
Some suggested the Green and Red had gone too strong too early in the year in 2023 after they lost to the Rossies in Connacht a week on from their league triumph.
They never really regained their consistency with the summer ending at the group stages, but McStay says his squad are where they want to be with the summer of 2024 on the horizon.
"We're in a good place," he continued.
"All focus goes onto New York. We go from one game to another. We usually have a game week on week [in the league]. We happen to have a fortnight of a break this time.
"We'll be tuning in for New York this week, big time.
"[Pádraig O'Hora and Paddy Durcan] and many others, I won't even list them. We got six or seven back on the field which is good because they need to put their hand up and check in for the New York game and see where they're at.
"So that was very pleasing, they did well. Their effort and endeavour was not in question. A bit sloppy... if it was a critical game you'd imagine both teams would be going a bit harder, but delighted with the points."
For Monaghan manager Vinny Corey it was a case of trying to concentrate on the positives after a league campaign where they lost six of their seven games.
"The results have been disappointing but the game time that some of the younger players have got has been a positive," he said.
"Overall I'd say a pretty good 70 minutes from us. The game was nip and tuck, playing the majority of the game with 14 men and the last 10 with 13 men.
"I couldn't fault the effort, it was a trojan effort from the boys. Probably a few wee decisions there [went against us].
"We got a few boys back from injury there today, which is always a positive, but it's full steam ahead and has been from the last few weeks for the Cavan match."
