Mayo can no longer be classed as a leading contender for the Sam Maguire.

That’s according to Pat Spillane who has attributed their early championship demise to two familiar failings – a lack of killer instinct and scoring power.

“I’m not surprised they’re gone because they are no longer a top-four county,” the Kerry great wrote in his Sunday World column.

“This season always had a sort of ‘last chance saloon’ look about it in terms of the careers of the O’Connor brothers, Cillian and Diarmuid, and Aidan O’Shea. There is not much in the way of emerging talent, with minimum impact coming from the bench.

“Two unresolved problems are the main reasons they failed to win an All-Ireland, even though they went close. Firstly, an inability to close out games from winning positions. They panicked within sight of the finishing line.

“History will not be kind to them given the number of All-Ireland finals they could or should have won. It was almost inevitable that having found so many ways to lose tight games, they would eventually be beaten in a penalty shootout (by Derry).”

Spillane added: “Over the years Mayo never had enough marquee forwards or a strong enough forward unit to win an All-Ireland. An over-dependence on Cillian O’Connor in the past and now Ryan O’Donoghue remains.

“I’m genuinely sorry that players of the calibre of the O’Connor brothers and O’Shea will retire without having won an All-Ireland medal.

"Of course they deserved one, but Celtic Crosses are not handed out to deserving cases. They have to be earned and sadly Mayo didn’t do enough to earn them.”

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