Fallen Mayo Captain Andy Moran has vowed to do whatever it takes to help his team overcome Donegal in the All Ireland Football Final on Sunday, despite not being able to play thanks to a cruciate ligament injury sustained in the last eight against Down.

Moran, speaking to the Irish Sun, claims that he thinks religion plays a very big role in his success in Gaelic Football and states that he will still go to Mass on Sunday before the game. Wearing a blue Lourdes bracelet that his sister acquired for him, the Ballaghaderreen clubman admits that he is not ‘hugely religious’ but that he ‘would have faith’ and sees this as ‘a big part of playing’.

The skipper, who was instrumental in Mayo’s success in the Connacht Championship, also refuses to lose faith in his ability to captain the team.

‘I haven’t missed a meeting or a training session once. I’ll have the same role. The only difference is that I won’t be able to do it on the pitch’. He goes on to state that if he were quieter around the Mayo camp, his teammates would be wondering ‘where has the lunatic gone?’

Speaking to RTE Sport, Moran was equally confident of his role in the current Mayo setup. ‘When you get injured you can’t think personally about it. It’s still a team effort and you have to do what’s best for the team.’

He also displays ample confidence in his Mayo teammates ahead of Sunday’s final stating that they are strong all over. Speaking to the Irish Sun, Moran said:

‘That’s the key-be tight at the back, strong at midfield and get the ball into the forwards .We’d eight subs the last day and I don’t think any of them weakened the team in any way. Peader Gardiner was the last sub to come in and that just shows the strength’.

Despite this however, Moran is expecting a very tight match as he sees Donegal as an undeniably strong challenge and one that should not be taken lightly, according to RTE Sport.

‘If we go out and take our chances I think that we are going to be in with a great chance to win near the end of the game. If Donegal go out and do the same it is going to be a very tight game and hopefully it is a good spectacle for the crowd to watch.