After last Sunday's provincial triumph, Mayo minor manager Ray Dempsey admitted that the fact that his side had to work hard for their win over Roscommon made the victory all the more sweeter. The win meant that Dempsey collected his first provincial title as a manager and the and after the game he expressed sheer delight with the way his side came through. "I've won a fair bit down through the years but when you're responsible for 30 young footballers, it's a great feeling when you win," said Dempsey. "A Connacht medal is something that those lads will have for the rest of their lives. When you win a tough game you will fell happier, more satisfied, because everyone, players and management, were tough enough to come through it." The opening stages of the game proved to be worrying for Dempsey and his management team after Mayo had conceded 0-5 and only scored 0-1 after the first quarter. "I was worried we weren't functioning, we were giving the ball away, and we were reacting by fouling and conceding points from frees," admitted the Mayo boss. The Westerners came back strong thereafter though to earn a three-point victory and bridge a seven-year gap to lift the Connacht title, and it's something that the Mayo manager believes the players should savour. "You have to let lads savour the moment, remember it, and learn from it," stressed Dempsey. "They're young lads and it's important that they do the right things on and off the pitch. It's one game at a time now and we want to improve 15 to 20 per cent before our next game against Monaghan or Tyrone." Mayo will take on the losers of this weekend's ESB Ulster MFC decider between Monaghan and Tyrone on the weekend of August 9/10. Tweet

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