Former Mayo star Lee Keegan has questioned whether Armagh are genuine All-Ireland contenders this season ahead of their Group Two clash with rivals Tyrone on Saturday night.
Writing in his weekly column on the RTE Sport website, the Sunday Game pundit also suggested “discontent” in Armagh after their failure to win the Ulster title following their dramatic penalty shootout defeat to Derry in Clones last month.
Kieran McGeeney’s side had an unconvincing round one win over Westmeath at the Box-It Athletic Grounds last weekend with Conor Turbitt’s late goal helping the hosts to a 1-13 to 1-12 victory while Tyrone lost out to Galway in their opening game.
Read more: Tyrone vs Armagh All-Ireland SFC Round Two: Live stream and TV info
“It certainly feels like there's a lot at stake here. Both teams need a win badly, from a psychological standpoint as much as from the perspective of the overall competition,” said Keegan.
“As a result, I suspect we'll see real white-knuckle championship fare in Omagh.
“Since the Ulster final loss, you're hearing rumblings of discontent here and there about Kieran McGeeney's management from small sections of the Armagh support.
“In blunt terms, this is to be expected. If you're at the helm for eight or nine years, and you've won nothing, people are going to start asking questions.
“I know for a fact that if I was with Mayo for as long as I was and we had nothing to show for it, do you think James Horan or Stephen Rochford would have been given as much time as they had? I don't think so.
“Given the situation in Armagh, with such a dearth of silverware for so long, it's hardly surprising that supporters are getting narky. We should acknowledge they've made progress under Kieran McGeeney. He's returned them to the top table, to some degree.
“But what's the likelihood of them winning the All-Ireland title this year? I don't see it.”
Keegan also claimed that Armagh’s Ulster Final defeat stemmed from the fact that they’ve yet to beat an elite team under McGeeney’s reign.
“There's probably an argument that their sloppy and hesitant display against Westmeath was a hangover from the draining provincial final loss,” added the former Footballer of the Year.
“Critically, they haven't beaten an elite team yet in Championship. The Qualifier wins over Tyrone and Donegal, I think, have to be seen in context - Tyrone weren't in the right mindframe to launch a proper title defence and Donegal's morale had been shattered after another Ulster final defeat.
“They had the Ulster title in their grasp late in extra-time against Derry, and yet they let it slip. That in itself was probably a consequence of them not having a major Championship victory under their belt.
“When it came down to the closing minutes, they didn't know how to see it out. There was a lack of know-how there, epitomised by the unwise kick out options in the dying embers.”
As for Tyrone, Keegan feels they are being undermined by a lack of discipline after Frank Burns was dismissed against Galway while goalkeeper Niall Morgan was shown a black card during the three-point defeat at Pearse Stadium.
“People are inclined to cut Tyrone slack because they are recent All-Ireland winners, although their results in the last two years have been so poor,” said Keegan.
“Certainly, the exodus in the immediate aftermath of the All-Ireland win impacted their squad depth and probably set a negative overall tone for their title defence.
“There's considerable pressure on both teams but I suspect it's more acutely felt in Tyrone, given the urgent need to end the run of defeats sooner or later.
“Yet despite their losing streak, the consensus is that they're still ahead of Armagh in the pecking order.
“What's been letting them down of late is their discipline, which is bizarre given the experience in the team, and so many All-Ireland medallists in their ranks.
“It really cost them against Galway. Even had it remained 15 v 15, I'm not convinced they would have won in Salthill but from the moment they went down to 14, and even 13 for a while, Padraic Joyce's team were able to manage the game and keep them at arm's length, even when nowhere near their fluid best.”
He added: “All four provincial champions were below par in Round 1 of the group phase - an interesting trend - and yet due to Frank Burns' crazy tackle, we didn't get to see Galway under the cosh as we did the others.
“Group Two was highlighted as the Group of Death at the outset, insofar as there is one. I fancy Galway to win the group outright and these two will be jostling for second place.
“It's a critical game and I fancy... a draw. An unsatisfying conclusion no doubt, but I feel it has draw written all over it.”
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