Mayo manager Andy Moran feels his side are “not the finished article” despite watching them romp into their county’s first All-Ireland SFC final for five years with a 17-point win over Louth.

It has been a blend of youth and experience that Moran has sought to combine this season, with the exciting talent of Kobe McDonald tempered by experienced campaigners.

While Mayo faltered in their Connacht semi-final against Roscommon, they have improved game on game throughout the All-Ireland campaign and now find themselves 70 minutes away from lifting Sam Maguire against either Kerry or Dublin who meet in the second semi-final on Sunday [16:00 BST].

They semi-final win was built on some attacking flair, but also sheer determination to force turnovers which led to each of their three goals, while shutting down the Wee County’s attack.

Despite the impressive performance, Moran feels his team still also have more to deliver.

“We have really good one to one defenders who are addicted to playing football and just want to learn,” he said.

“We’re not the finished article, so when the likes of young [Eoin] McGreal and these boys can play 55 minutes at 19 years of age in Croke Park, it makes a big difference.

“Ryan [O’Donoghue] up front, the likes of [Enda] Hession, Jack Coyne and Donnacha [McHugh] at the back – they are great leaders to have about the place.”

While some of the pre-game narrative suggested Louth would dominate from kick-outs which would have a big bearing of the game, Mayo more than held their own – an area Moran felt “made a bit difference”.

But so too did the “talented boys in attack” that brought the Mayo support to life in a packed out Croke Park.

The swathes in green and red were singing long before the hooter sounded and for Moran, helping the county rediscover its voice after five years away from the semi-final stage is what objective number one for the year is but they want to go further.

“It’s just great to see Mayo people back in Croke Park supporting the team,” he added.

“A semi-final is for winning and to give yourself a chance to win the big prize in any competition.

“For us, we had an aim at the start of the year to get the Mayo crowd back supporting the team and I think that was answered today.”