Lee Keegan says Mayo must be "prepared to go to battle" with Kerry.

The champions of Connacht and Munster collide in the first of this year's All-Ireland SFC semi-finals at Croke Park on Sunday and Keegan accepts that James Horan's men will have to fight hard for the full 70 minutes:

"Kerry will punish you if you're not prepared to go to battle with them. They are a team you have to take very, very seriously," he told RTE.

"It's something we've been emphasising in the run up to the game. We have to go for a full 70 if we're to get over the line. If we don't, we won't get to another All-Ireland final."

The Westport clubman was happy with the reaction when Cork put it up to Mayo in their quarter-final: "Something that was highlighted was how comfortable we were when Cork did draw level," he notes.

"We never panicked. We were in command of the game during the third period, so it was disappointing to concede those seven points.

"The work we'd done prepared us well to get that result. I don't think we were worried - we were very comfortable in that situation, which is good to see."

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