By Cian O'Connell

In a year like no other Mayo's cocktail of emerging and experienced players have combined nicely to earn an All Ireland final place.

Aidan O'Shea's relevance to the green and red cause is well documented with the Breaffy clubman remaining an integral part of James Horan's team.

The fact that so many promising footballers have flourished offers cause for optimism.

Crucial lessons have been learned on and off the field in 2020.

“The whole world stopped still for a while and we all maybe got a better appreciation for what we have," O'Shea admits.

"Sometimes you can get caught up in the whole thing. For long stretches of those six months, we probably didn’t know whether there would be a Championship.

"The fact that we got back into it, that enthusiasm of getting back into it, usually you don’t have a break that significant, I think the fact we got back in and the freshness of a straight knock-out Championship, the pressure of having to win seven games in a row, unfortunately we lost to Tyrone, it was back against the walls stuff, which is always nice.

"That with the squad and where it was after the club season, we probably unveiled a couple of players and grew through that process as well with some really strong club performances by some of the younger lads, which has been brought back into the senior squad and really helped us."

Now, though, Mayo are set for the greatest test of the lot in Gaelic Football. A decorated Dublin outfit await, but Mayo have examined the standard bearers' resolve on several occasions during the past decade.

How would O'Shea describe the rivalry? “One-sided at the moment, anyway, unfortunately," O'Shea replies.

"The games have been unbelievable over the last decade, it’s probably been the two teams that have had the biggest games in Croke Park.

"There’s huge respect there for what they’ve achieved. They’ve been really close games and I think we bring the best out of each other in a lot of ways.

"We’ve probably not played very well at times in seasons and then we come to play Dublin and it brings the best out of us. There’s nothing like the Dubs to focus the minds and I think that will be the case on Saturday."

Horan has integrated a raft of new players since returning to the Mayo hot-seat. Indeed Ciaran McDonald's coaching and selector role is an extra talking point in the west.

“Ciaran, firstly, is hugely passionate about Mayo football and trying to improve the players," O'Shea says.

"He’s a very personable fella. He’s the first man on the training pitch every night, out getting the drills and cones set up, and kicking with the lads and talking to them. Obviously he was a serious footballer. It’s funny, some of the young lads don’t remember him playing and haven’t a clue that he was a decent player.

"His addition has been huge. Similar to the way he played, he wanted to be as progressive as possible, he wanted people to take chances and risks.

"I think that’s been reflected in the way we’ve played. He’s all about making your team-mates better and trying to pick out the pass at the right time.

"We’ve tried to do that as best we can, I think it suits our gameplan and the profile of player we have."

O'Shea has played his part too. Another lively encounter at the Jones Road venue beckons.