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Lee Keegan inspired by Westport and Sergio Garcia examples in Mayo quest

Lee Keegan believes the persistence shown by 2017 Masters golf winner Sergio Garcia is the type o...



Lee Keegan inspired by Westpor...
Football

Lee Keegan inspired by Westport and Sergio Garcia examples in Mayo quest

Lee Keegan believes the persistence shown by 2017 Masters golf winner Sergio Garcia is the type of example that can bode well for Mayo in their now 66 year quest for All Ireland Football glory.

And the success he enjoyed at club level in February is something the right half back referenced on Off The Ball.

After winning the 2016 Footballer of the Year as Mayo finished runners-up to Dublin after two pulsating replays, Keegan enjoyed success with the club on the national scene as Westport won the All-Ireland Intermediate Club Football Championship two months ago.

"It was a enjoyable and a good experience," he said.

"It was a great experience. Besides winning, it was great to have that experience with the lads and having the craic week in, week out. You need to enjoy what you're doing as well. I got that rejuventation of playing with the lads every week."

And the lessons and belief from the All Ireland Club Championships is something the Mayo star will take into county level when the Championship begins anew.

"From a Westport point of view, we were written off in a lot of the games anyway," he said.

"I always reference Dublin as one of the greatest teams I've ever seen play and rightly so because what they've done in the modern era is sensational.

"They are beatable and that's a reality. I think Mayo know that and we're just trying to fill a gap or maybe 1 or 2% that we can actually do that and we have to keep knocking on the door to create this history where we can actually get over the line.

"They did reference Sergio Garcia. It took him 75 attempts to win a major but he kept going to do it. A lot of failures along the way but it's going to happen eventually and that's my philosophy I took from Westport because we were written off in so many games."

He also doesn't intend to change the way he plays the game after receiving a black card for a tangle with Dublin's Diarmuid Connolly in the 2016 All Ireland final replay.

Lee Keegan was speaking at the launch of the Kelloggs Cul Camps. Kellogg’s supports Cul Camps to promote and encourage physical activity and believes in the power of breakfast to fuel activity on and off the pitch.

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