On the eve of Mayo's recent league clash with Dublin, Philly McMahon, in his Irish Independent column, stated: "There were always certain Mayo players that were easy to wind up.
"You could take them out of their stride because they were more concerned with being seen to be standing up to you than sticking to what they were supposed to be doing."
Honest observations in the view of the eight-times All-Ireland winner, while many fans in the Connacht county were irked.
Speaking at the launch of Darkness into Light, the annual fundraising event organised by Pieta and supported by Electric Ireland, McMahon, who called time in his inter-county career last December, was again asked for his thoughts on Mayo, this time to look forward.
James Horan's side are unbeaten so far in the league, with one of their victories coming against Dublin at Croke Park. That consecutive victory over the Dubs, coupled with the emergence of new leaders, gives McMahon a sense that Mayo will be "strong contenders" this year.
"The Dublin thing is not hanging over them to the same extent now," he said.
"They've beaten Dublin twice consecutively. They have now got new leaders in the group. The old leaders in the group are probably strengthening the bench to an extent. The new leaders don't have the history of being beaten in big games, to an extent. Maybe last year or the year before, they only experienced it.
"Those things make a difference. When I first got on the Dublin team, I was playing with a lot of lads who'd been beaten well by Tyrone, Kerry. I didn't really care about Tyrone and Kerry, without disrespecting them, I didn't have that pain from them."
The Ballymun Kickhams clubman does add that a few of the Mayo 'old guard' have still much to offer and that as an attacking force, the side are now a bit more potent.
"I still think Lee Keegan is a massive leader for those Mayo lads. Diarmuid O'Connor is a massive leader, so is Matthew Ruane. I know Tommy Conroy is injured, but you need two or three good forwards to win an All-Ireland and dismantle a good defensive unit. Mayo have developed their full-forward line a lot over the last few years, instead of relying on Cillian O'Connor and when Andy Moran was there. Mayo have a nice balance.
"This Mayo team have had a strong league. They've been hit and miss in some previous years in league where they went down and back up. They've had a good campaign to date, how that transfers to championship, who knows, but, as they always are, they'll be there in the latter stages of the championship."
On Sunday next, the Dubs will be looking to end their winless run in the league when they face Tyrone in Omagh. A loss for Dessie Farrell's side, coupled with a victory for Kildare against Armagh, would condemn the boys in blue to Division 2 football for 2023.
No shortage of motivation for both sides then, according to McMahon.
"What better challenge for this Dublin group than to go up and break the camel's back, get a win, get a performance, fighting together in a physical battle, and beating the 2021 All-Ireland champions. That's the carrot dangling in front of that group. It's a really good one.
"If you're a Tyrone, player, you're thinking 'We didn't have a good performance the game before, got beaten. We have a chance now to put the nail in the coffin for Dublin, put them under serious pressure with the relegation battle.'"
Follow Kerry v Mayo (throw-in 7.30pm Saturday) via our live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport or the RTÉ News app, alternatively watch live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, from 7.15pm.
