As graciously and complimentary as it was meant, the comment eludes to all that dogs the minds of Mayo supporters and, if previous seasons are to be believed, the county’s players - for champions they are not. Not the champions they aspire to be at any rate; the champions scores of Mayo men have strived to be for 63 years.

It’s a record the county is desperate to banish. Another pattern they would dearly love to disrupt is their subservience to the Kingdom.

In those 63 barren years, a Mayo team has only beaten the green and gold once in Championship action.

Distant or recent, it matters little; history is not the Westerners’ friend.

Should this Mayo team conform to the pattern of history too, it could well spell the end of James Horan’s tenure, not to mention their best chance of ending either of those unwanted sequences of events for some time.

Horan’s men though have taken a different approach to Championship 2014. A fourth successive Connacht crown was won with effort rather than ease. Any number of factors could put an end to their latest quest for glory but rest assured peaking early will not be one of them. That lesson has been well and truly learnt by now.

If the knowledge of playing within themselves has comforted Mayo’s players in the run-up to today’s clash, the prospect of the green and gold could have a greater opposite affect though.

One win. In 63 years.

The 2005 All-Ireland quarter-final; 2011 semi-final – painful memories.

All-Ireland final losses in 1997, 2004 and 2006 too.

In fairness, a little trepidation is understandable in the circumstances.

James Horan, however, is adamant the past won’t matter a jot come throw-in.

“Thanks for mentioning it but it’s not an issue for us at all,” he said dismissing the suggestion that the Kerry hex would factor this week.

Now, it’s his players’ responsibility not to make a liar of their manager.

It’s certainly within their powers to make that happen; after all this is their fourth successive season in a semi-final. They’ve contested the last two finals, only to be beaten by one magnificently drilled team and another, simply magnificent.

They are, until proven otherwise, the country’s second best team.

You’ve the feeling Mayo will either live by the sword or die by it this evening; their constant launching of attacks from the half-back line could very well be their making or their downfall.

Certainly, they’ve leaked plenty of scores this season, although that is especially true of the league rather than championship. Keith Higgins, Donal Vaughan and Lee Keegan will, as always, be integral to their county’s hopes.

The inside-forward line of Dillon, Moran and O’Connor too. And if Aidan O’Shea operates at centre-forward as named, rather than dropping in alongside his brother and Donal Vaughan, besting Peter Crowley – who replaces Killian Young - would go a long way to establishing the foundations of victory too.

Kerry though have a fearsome forward line of their own and in Legion’s James O’Donoghue boast the most potent finisher in the championship to date.

Whether he’s better than the Gooch or not as Martin McHugh wondered aloud recently (he’s not), he has certainly assumed the mantle of talisman for this Kerry side in the absence of the aforementioned footballing great.

Paul Geaney too has enjoyed a fine summer too and will take watching by Mayo’s last line of defence.

Declan O’Sullivan – who has apparently lost out to Stephen O’Brien – is conspicuous by his absence however. If O’Donoghue has assumed the talismanic portion of Gooch’s usual responsibilities, O’Sullivan has shouldered much of the playmaking burden to date.

A late shuffle of the pack that sees O’Sullivan restored to the Kerry team before 3.30pm wouldn’t be a huge surprise in the circumstances.

Travelling through Mayo this weekend the bunting is out in force, flags fly in the windows of all but a few establishments, public houses and homes. They’ve been here before and suffered their share.

Yet again though, they gear up for another tilt at greatness. For this group, it’s now or never.