Emmet Malone talks to the Cork City striker who is set on shaking off injury to be fit for the FAI Cup final

With just five days to go until Sunday's Carlsberg-sponsored FAI Cup final at Lansdowne Road, Cork City's Neale Fenn is continuing his fight to shake off the hamstring injury he picked up early on in the decisive league victory over rivals Derry.

The 28-year-old striker has been attempting a return to training in recent days but was back with the doctors yesterday after suffering pain in the knee of the same leg in which he sustained the hamstring problem.

"It's all a bit difficult," he said yesterday, "because I don't think the original problem is too bad at this stage but I haven't been able to test it really because of the pain. We're not sure what it is really but I'll keep working on it and I'd hope to be running pain free on it by Friday in which case I'd certainly be in the running for Sunday."

Denis Behan did well after coming on in the Derry game but Fenn proved himself an influential figure over the final two thirds of the championship campaign and having seen his gamble on John O'Flynn pay off so handsomely 11 days ago at Turner's Cross, Damien Richardson is likely to give the former Tottenham striker every chance to prove his fitness ahead of Sunday's kick-off.

"I always say there's better to come from me but, yeah, it's been a good season," he says. "It didn't look too promising at one stage. I'd been left out for the last 13 games of last season (when Kevin Doyle replaced him in attack) and then I only played something like one of the first 13 this year.

"Fortunately, when I finally got in for a few games I found a bit of form and scored a few goals. That proved a turning point and while I didn't score as many goals as I would have liked in the latter part of the season, I like to think I did okay.

"I think that I'm the sort of player who has very clear strengths and weaknesses," he says. "If you play to the strengths then I can give a lot back but if the style of game doesn't suit me then obviously I'm not going to figure so much. Hopefully, I can get in on Sunday and it will be my sort of game.

"It would certainly be great to be involved," continues the player whose only previous game at Lansdowne Road came seven years ago when he featured in the Ireland XI side assembled for Paul McGrath's international testimonial.

Before that he had made the squad for the World Cup qualifying game against Belgium but ended up watching the contest from the sidelines.

This time, he hopes he can mark his return to the south Dublin stadium by making a significant contribution on what could be an unforgettable day for his current club.

"It's already been a great season for us and watching the lads in training over the past week or so I think you can see that a little bit of the weight has been lifted," he says. "There wasn't too much pressure before the Derry game because really, we just had so much confidence in our own ability to beat them, but it's still great to have it in the bag and to be able to look at this game knowing you've already won the main prize.

"That's not to say, though, that the lads won't still be hungry; we've looked to win every game this year and that won't change now."

There is the added incentive, he points out, of the parade through the city that is planned for the players in the wake of Sunday's final. "We've won the league all right," he says, "but it's a nice thing for them to do and it would be great if we take part having just wrapped up the second half of the double."