GAA: James Horan warns Cork his Mayo side have improved since their last All-Ireland meeting

Mayo manager James Horan has warned Cork his side have improved since the last time the teams met in an All-Ireland football quarter-final, ahead of their clash this Sunday.

That will be an ominous warning for Rebels fans, as Horan’s men brushed aside the then defending All-Ireland champions in that game three years ago with an emphatic 1-13 to 2-6 win.

That game gave this team confidence and was one of the huge catalysts in this team’s performance.

The Westerners enter this game as favourites, having reached four consecutive quarter-finals, and Horan revealed that victory over Cork proved a catalyst for their subsequent success.

“That was obviously a huge game for us, a huge game for this team the way that we drove on that day and went toe to toe,” he said.

Significant

“That really spring-boarded us and gave this team confidence and was one of the huge catalysts in this team’s performance.

“It was a significant day for us which we remember very fondly. We gained a lot of experience since then and we are looking to push on all the time.”

Mayo were defeated in the All-Ireland final by Dublin last year and the men from the capital have been in menacing form so far this year.

Despite this, hopes are high amongst Mayo’s fans that their team can get back to the final and atone for last year’s heartache.

Horan, preferring to focus on the task at hand, is refusing to look that far ahead and revealed he has yet to watch the reigning champions’ Leinster final destruction of Meath.

“No, no,” he said when questioned about the game. “I’ll watch it when and if I need to.”

Kerry face Galway at 2.00pm on Sunday in the first of two All-Ireland football quarter-finals at Croke Park, with Mayo taking on Cork at 4.00pm.