Billy Joe Padden has noted a trend of Mayo doing just enough to pull off victories against the weaker sides in comparison to the intensity then shown in the biggest games.
Speaking to Off The Ball after a Connacht Championship game in which they did enough to see off Sligo, ex-Mayo footballer Padden spoke of an approach he has seen creep in.
"I don't think Mayo were ever really in trouble but it was kind of uninspiring at times," he said.
"You kind of got the feeling that in the past, particularly in Connacht, that Mayo would have played really well for 15 or 20 minutes and done the damage and put Sligo to bed.
"But they never really did that yesterday even though they seemed to keep Sligo at arm's length.
"It's something that has crept into this Mayo team, particularly all through last year, where even through the qualifiers when in some games they were put under pressure - the Fermanagh game and the Westmeath game - they just seem to be able to turn it on for 5 or 10 minutes and just do enough and then when the big teams come up, they start at an altogether different level."
Mayo's Fergal Boland with Neil Ewing and Patrick O'Connor of Sligo ©INPHO/James Crombie
And Padden sees a risk in that way of approaching certain games from a Mayo perspective.
"You just would worry sometimes because it's hard to keep switching it on like that," he said.
"But as I said we have to have faith in them. They've shown that they can do that."
However, looking ahead to the Connacht semi final, he did add: "Mayo are probably going into this away game in Galway and it's probably going to turn into a 50:50 game".
But he did express how impressed he has been with the emerging Fergal Boland, and also emphasised that Mayo's chances of success will rest on the potency of their half back line.
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