Chris Barrett believes competition for places in the Mayo squad is fiercer than ever.

James Horan's return to the helm has seen Mayo start the year encouragingly, romping through to Sunday's Division One final against Kerry, and former All Star defender Barrett says players are now happy just to make the match-day squad as opposed to the starting XV:

“In terms of a squad, it's the most competitive squad I've been involved in with Mayo,” he is quoted in The Irish Independent.

“Even in terms of back in the day, when the thing was to get in the first 15 and if you weren't in the 15 you were disappointed. Whereas now it's to get in the 26.

“There's a real, real clamour to get in the 26 and there are guys who have started and then the next day they're out of the squad. So, it's got to a stage where you're happy if you're in the match-day squad travelling to the league matches.”

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