As a Mayo person, how do you approach Sunday?

Are you fraught with apprehension about the prospect of losing another All-Ireland final?

That would be understandable as they have after all lost eight since 1989.

Or are you embracing and relishing another chance at glory?

I hope it’s the latter.

There are no neutrals ahead of this final. Thirty-one counties want Mayo to win. We need Mayo to win. There may even be a few Dublin people who wouldn’t mind seeing Sam head west!

At this stage, Mayo’s inability to close out All-Ireland finals has become a national problem. Any year now I’m expecting the Government to form a commission of inquiry to look into it.

However, the more I look into this game the more I cannot escape the feeling that Sunday is the day!

Some of the statistics surrounding the underdogs are quite astounding. Mayo have appeared in 48 All-Ireland semi-finals that I can find, yet have only won three All-Irelands – 22 of those semi-finals coming since their last All-Ireland win in 1951.

A stat I like is the fact that Mayo’s three All-Ireland wins have come against the then Leinster champions. Oh and the year Mayo last beat Kerry in an All-Ireland semi-final replay? You guessed it, 1951.

The meatier reasons for believing in the miracle this Sunday are football-based.

It is only 12 months since these two played out a remarkable draw before Dublin got over the line in the replay with three points from substitute Cormac Costello. Great as Dublin might be, they really rode their luck in both of those games.

Two own goals in the drawn match gifted to them? Then in the replay a sub arrives on the field and the ball ricochets to him for one score and he shoots the other two instantly in a blistering cameo. And Mayo miss a late free to bring the game to extra time?

It’s a point that shouldn’t be lost for Mayo supporters. They were only a decent slice of luck away from winning the All-Ireland last year and the Dubs have traditionally struggled against them. Few teams hold a Croke Park win over Dublin on their CV in recent years but Mayo do, back in 2012. They have also held the Dubs to two since then.

Kerry were their bogey team, not Dublin.

The defending champions do look even better with the arrival of Con O’Callaghan, but perhaps that addition is tempered by the demise of Diarmuid Connolly as a starter. The strength of Jim Gavin’s bench is well flagged by now, but Mayo are not short on the replacement front either. Paddy Durcan and Conor Loftus are just two that give them something different when they enter the fray.

There has been something about the Connacht men this summer. Of course the win over Kerry stands out, but the manner of their qualifier wins over Derry, Clare and Cork, not to mention the replay victory over Roscommon, suggest an air of destiny about 2017.

What’s to like is the form of forwards. The form of Jason Doherty and the aforementioned Loftus means they are not as reliant on Cillian O’Connor and to an extent Andy Moran – who has been brilliant in recent outings. Their physical strength has been obvious for some time now and this has given them an edge, which was startling against Kerry.

So they have the tools required to beat Dublin. In Keith Higgins, Lee Keegan, Aidan O’Shea, Tom Parsons, Kevin McLoughlin, Donal Vaughan and Chris Barrett they have the engine room to compete with Dublin’s hard-running game.

Those seven are what is so vital in modern day football – they are almost play anywhere ‘utility players’. Men like that are comfortable in defence or attack and will hopefully be effective in both sectors on Sunday.

Of course the serial champions can counter with stars of their own. But we are not without hope!

The Dubs have been tight performers in their last four finals, winning all four by just a kick of the ball, many of those being low scoring games. My only fear is that they might be due a breakout display, a la the great Kerry team of 1975, 1978 and 1979, but perhaps Tyrone bore the brunt of that.

That semi-final was highly impressive considering that the Dubs had cruised to that juncture and hadn’t had a test beforehand. So if we are to look for question marks over them this is a straw to clutch at. Tyrone rolled over and we know Mayo won’t do that – there is a possibility the Dubs might be undercooked.

Aidan O’Shea has been the player given specific jobs this summer depending on the game and the opposition’s strengths. Stephen Cluxton’s kick-outs might need more than a one man solution, but how Mayo set up for those in the first few minutes will be informative. If they can stop Dublin’s attacks at source, they are half way there. Easier said than done, but finding a way to curb Cluxton’s impact is key to putting Dublin on the back foot.

Mayo arrive in Croke Park with a decent break behind them, momentum and are a team that has won 12 championship matches in the last two years. They know how to win. Better than that, they know how to eke out close contests. And anyone who thinks Croke Park is not a happy hunting ground need only look back over the last five years to see that Mayo have had some of their best days on Jones’ Road.

Donegal in their pomp, Tyrone, Kerry and (then All-Ireland champions) Dublin have all had their colours lowered at HQ by the guts of this team. They’re back again in a final and that takes guts.

The way to beat Dublin, or any good side for that matter, is to match them. Mayo can and have done that before and can do it again. All they have been missing for years now is that little bit of luck, the odd break that says it is your day. CL