Galway forward Sean Armstrong believes competition for places is driving the county towards a Connacht final.

Armstrong and his teammates saw off Mayo for a third consecutive meeting in Connacht encounters and are on course to challenge for silverware.

And Armstrong, who returned to inter-county level after retiring in 2014, feels the strength of Galway’s squad can only serve them well for future challenges.

“There’s a flip of a coin between lads getting in and getting out and Kevin [Walsh] has alluded to that many times,” Armstrong told Off The Ball.

“It comes down to which way we want to play and looking at the opposition to see which team he’s going to throw out. We’ve been around long enough working towards a common goal.

“And if Kevin puts out the best 15 he thinks will win, we just give the boys support and you go in and do your job. There’s massive competition in training for places and that’s just driving everyone on and that’s what you need.

“If you look at Mayo and Dublin for the last six, seven years – they’ve had savage squads. Training is going to be at a higher intensity with lads trying to get in the team.”

But despite their latest victory, Armstrong knows no player can afford to take their place for granted.

“It’s a blank canvas and everyone will be going back to training buzzing and mad to get in the team,” Armstrong added.

“My legs are dwindling a bit but I’m just happy to play any part and be involved and really enjoy my football. And I think most of the lads feel the exact same way.

“We’ve been working on our consistency and not getting too complacent.

“We won’t be looking further than the Sligo game and concentrating on getting a win there and then move onto a Connacht final, please God.”

Written by James Hopper