Cillian O’Connor became Mayo’s all-time leading championship scorer on the weekend thanks to his 3-9 haul against Limerick at the Gaelic Grounds.
The skipper took his overall championship tally to 23-261 and overtook former great Conor Mortimer on top of the pile.
O’Connor is only 24 points off becoming the all-time leading scorer in championship history - an honour which is currently held by the legendary Colm Cooper.
But the 26-year-old is no stranger to criticism and Billy Joe Padden believes O’Connor will have to win the big prizes to silence his doubters.
“I think people’s visions of him are clouded a little bit by the fact he’s Mayo’s marquee forward and there’s no doubt this Mayo team wouldn’t be what it is without Cillian O’Connor,” Padden said.
“And it wouldn’t have developed the way it has over the last six or seven years. But Mayo haven’t won the big prize. Cillian O’Connor has played well in a lot of those big games and other games he hasn’t played so well.
“He’s missed big frees in those games and he’s got big scores in those games. He levelled one up in play against Dublin to force an All-Ireland replay – that’s a big score.
“He’s had success and failures at that level but the one thing you can’t take away from him is that his level has been consistently high all through those six or seven years he’s been playing inter-county football.
“He really is an exceptional talent. And I think the one good thing for Mayo is that while he has struggled with injuries over the years, he’s always played through that pain barrier.
“But he’s looked so sharp. His movement in terms of just getting across the field looked better than it has in the past three years. He looks physically in a really good condition and that’s a really good sign for Mayo this year and also for him and the rest of his career.
“The big worry in Mayo with him was because he suffered so many injuries – even though he is 26 – people were thinking would he have a long career?
“Hopefully that will be the case and he’ll go on to put a good gap between him and whoever is in second place when he finishes his career.”
James Hopper
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