Goalkeeper David Clarke insists that the new faces on the Mayo team won't carry the burden of past failures into Sunday's Connacht SFC final against Galway. The Westerners suffered crushing All-Ireland final losses to Kerry in 2004 and 2006 respectively, while last year they were humbled by Galway and Derry in the Connacht championship and All-Ireland qualifiers respectively. But Clarke, who has seen off competition from a number of candidates for the number one jersey, believes the new generation of Mayo footballers won't hold any fears. He said: "There is still the backbone of the team of 2006 and 2004 but the youth has been given a chance. They are successful players that have won All-Irelands (at under 21 level in 2006). They are doing well and seem to be confident in their positions. "There are lads coming through. Tom Parsons did well the last day, Kieran Conroy is at full back. Tom Cunniffe made his debut last year but was on the successful under 21 team. They are all making their mark, they are all in the team. They are all playing well. "The fact is that a lot of teams that win All-Irelands definitely have 19 and 20-year-olds in the team. "They are the people that have ambition and drive. Speed is a big thing in today's game and you have that in abundance when you are 19 to 21. "You are not afraid of anything when you are that age. They have been successful and they don't care who they are playing. They are confident in their own ability." Tweet

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