Alan Dillon tells Ian O'Riordan that previous defeats have spurred Mayo on for Sunday's final.

It's a touchy subject but you can't talk to any Mayo footballer without mentioning their All-Ireland record, and more specifically their losing record. Even the younger stars like Alan Dillon, still only 23, can't escape it, not when he's lost four All-Ireland finals already - the minor final of 1999 and 2000, the under-21 final of 2001, and the senior final of 2004.

"Sure, we're just not getting across the finish line," he suggests, without flinching, "and that's not good enough. We need to make the breakthrough, and that's what Sunday is all about to us. We don't want to be another one of those Mayo teams that just folds.

"We've done well to win semi-finals, and have had no problem getting to finals. The problem is what happens after that. But the under-21s had a great success this year and that's been very encouraging. So we're just looking forward to another chance.

"It's just another 70 minutes of football. Okay, a high-pressurised 70 minutes, but you can't get too worked up about it."

Dillon was only 21 when Mayo played Kerry in the 2004 final. He scored a goal early on that gave his team a great start, but in the end that was wiped out by a heavy defeat and the painful realisation that Mayo had lost another major football final.

"We took a lot of lessons from that," he says, "but more than anything we were just devastated at the way we lost. A lot of us left our games behind us that day, and that's something we're very conscious of this year. We know we'll need to keep our concentration for the whole 70 minutes.

"It took a while to recover though, I'd say till after Christmas really. But then we'd a good league campaign the next year, and I think pushed it all to one side. And that's all you can do. But we see this year as totally different again. A new management with a new squad of players. We've all left 2004 behind us now."

Dillon's own game this summer reflects the improvements in Mayo two years on. Moving from the full forward line to wing forward, his creativity and running on and off the ball has been startling.

"The extra year or two has brought me on," he adds, "and maybe I'm coming into my peak. I did play minor and under-21 at centre forward, but I think the wing does suit me better. I prefer the more open game, running into more space. But I think all this team have taken on extra responsibility, and realised we needed to. In the past we were leaving it to the likes of David Heaney and Ciarán McDonald and James Nallen. It's a whole unit this year and everyone has shown what they can do.

"The experience of 2004, obviously, will also stand to us going into this one. And I think the final build-up is different. I think in the past all the hype and that might have overshadowed our performances, but all we've been thinking about this year is putting in a performance that's good enough to actually win the game.

"We also know 2004 is well in the past. We don't even think about it anymore. We've a different focus and mentality this time. We've come through some very tight, tough games this year, obviously the Dublin game, that really pushed us to our limits. When you get that winning feeling of being a point up at the final whistle, I think mentally that pushes you on."

It's no secret where that steelier mentality has come from and Dillon credits Mickey Moran and John Morrison: "First of all, it's been their professional attitude. There was the idea that maybe Ulster teams were ahead of us in terms of their approach, but they have brought that to Mayo, and all the players have taken that on board. And if you think about it, the likes of Armagh and Tyrone are best at grinding out results. I think that's what we've been doing this year.

"And everything is positive. All their training is all about sharpness and quickness. We're moving the ball much quicker this year, not getting caught in the tackle, and I think that's one thing very evident about us this year. We're very slick. Especially when we get to Croke Park, where there is much more space. We've pushed it on another level, but we need to go a little more against Kerry."