By Cian O'Connell

Pressure and expectation accompany Mayo into every Connacht Championship encounter, but 2016 brought a reminder of the dangers that exist in the west.

Five provincial titles in a row marked Mayo down as a team of admirable consistency, but Galway produced a defiant display to cause a shock.

It was rewarded with a stirring Castlebar victory which Stephen Rochard admits was a real setback at the time. "In the immediate aftermath you’re probably thinking something like that," Rochford admits.

"You’re probably looking at it to say what could you have done better. But I don’t think you can stick too long on that when you’ve got a qualifier route to take on, and how things can come quick and fast there.

"You don’t get time to ponder or reflect too deeply on it. It may have given you a little bit of a shake, but it wasn’t a big knock."

Having guided Corofin to an AIB All Ireland SFC club title Rochford is well aware of the talent in Galway.

"Yeah, very impressed," Rochford replies. "They have shown a steady progression over the last two, three years.

"Obviously their Under 21s had a fine run in the Under 21 Championship. Their minors put on a display here (in Castlebar) a number of weeks ago.

"Their seniors now are FBD champions, Division 2 champions, Connacht champions. That cabinet is getting fairly packed. We know that it’s going to be quite a battle going up into their back garden. But at the same time it’s one that we are quietly looking forward to."

Respectful of Galway, Rochford reckons the return of Fiontán Ó Curraoin, Sean Armstrong, and Michael Meehan to the inter-county arena is a huge boost for the Tribesmen.

"They play quite a tight game at the back," Rochford says about Galway. "They like to drop in numbers. You’ve probably seen Johnny Heaney and Tom Flynn looking to keep things reasonably tight.

"Fiontán Ó Curraoin in their team has obviously offered them an additional physical aspect that they didn’t have last year.

"They’ve matched that now with the experience with Sean Armstrong coming back in and Mike Meehan is in the corridors and is training away with them. It wouldn’t surprise me for Mike to play some time.

"What we expect is quality all over the field and a real battle with a couple of the quality forwards they have as well."

Rochford stresses that Mayo aren't altering their approach in 2017 in any way ahead of the Galway tussle. "No, not typically," Rochford remarks. "We’ve had a game (Sligo) that’s a week earlier than what we played in the Championship last year.

"There hasn’t been any major change and maybe that comes from a familiarity with the group that I wouldn’t have had as such this time last year.

"We’re 12 months on, which means as a group we’re 18 months into it. I wouldn’t say that there is any material change."