IT'S a familiar show with a familiar cast. Derry and Donegal have met in four major finals in the last five years and the participants haven't changed very much. For Donegal, the time on the road stretches back even further. Tomorrow's match will be their ninth major final in eight seasons.

Among those whose involvement encompasses all that time is Brian Murray who, despite occasional sightings elsewhere, has been part of Donegal's midfield for over 10 years. Now 32, he made his debut for the county back in 1984.

Questions concerning the quality of the team's motivation as they face into another League final having lost both the 1993 replay to Dublin and last year's final to Derry - can be usefully directed to him.

"You'd hate to be beaten three times in four years," he says, "and it would be great to win a national title. I think there's a bit more urgency in the camp than last year. At the back of our minds (then) was that we had a championship match a week after."

References to last year concern Donegal's daunting fixture list which, including play offs and other knockout matches, amounted to seven matches in nine weeks. The seventh match was the opening championship encounter with then All Ireland champions Down, played only a week after the League final.

The protracted League campaign actually benefited Donegal to the extent that they were sharp and practised against a Down team exhibiting marked signs of ring rustiness. Unfortunately for them, the surprisingly emphatic victory was followed by one of the shocks of the summer defeat at Ballybofey by Monaghan.

"When you look at the Down match," says Murray, "we were on a high and then it was four weeks to Monaghan and we had to peak again. We were instigators of our own downfill, didn't prepare as well as we should and got caught on the hop. Bang, you lose. You would have thought we'd be experienced enough not to let that happen.

Maybe we took them for granted but they played really well and took some great scores."

Tomorrow's final is a renewal of one of modern football's most enduring rivalries. The years leading from Donegal's run to an Ulster final in 1989 to All Ireland success in 1992 were dotted with three victories over Derry. Since then, however, the trend has reversed.

"In recent years, they've come out better," says Murray. "They're a big, strong team and in 1993, it was their strength that won it. Last year they seemed to want to win it more than we did. A lot of us didn't put the effort in.

"Our approach this time has been more relaxed, we've prepared a little bit better mentally. We prepared nicely for the Cork match, although we wasted a lot of possession."

The unsolicited reference to Donegal's difficulties in the semifinal touches on a problem that has characterised the team's play in recent matches. Despite the presence up front of one of the game's best full forwards, Tony Boyle, Donegal have too often favoured a long winded, short game. Murray acknowledges as much, and its implications for tomorrow.

"We can play it long into Tony or we can play it sharp. There is a tendency sometimes to mess around and get dispossessed and Derry are good at dispossessing and will put our players under pressure. We should be playing Tony more and young (Brian) Roper. Even Manus (Boyle) is well able to take a ball and kick a score.

"We have to adapt to both styles on Sunday. There are times when you want to play it short and other times when you want it long, especially with the players on our full forward line."

In the middle, Murray's own game has had to adapt to the departure since 1992 of All Ireland winning captain, Anthony Molloy, whose influence on the team was enormous. Murray has had to become the anchor in midfield while at the same time the team has struggled to come up with a regular partner for him. He is hopeful the search is over.

"He's (Molloy) a hard man to replace. He was always a strong force and it used to be a question of who's going to partner: Anthony Molloy?. Now it's who's going to partner me? James Ruane has played a majority of the games in the last couple of months. He's a good cub, enjoys the challenge, is strong and fit and can take a score.

"Against (Anthony) Tohill, he's up against the best midfielder in the country and the best partnership over the last couple of years.

"I'm conserving energy a little bit more. I've also more responsibility. If you look around, there's a lot of that on the team: fellas around 30 beginning to take on more.

"Maybe I'm not doing as much running forward and covering back. Concentrating on the middle. There's no reason for me to go forward - Molloy didn't - and I prefer to play in the middle and let the ball go forward to Tony."

One of the subtexts of last year's championship disappointment was a row between players and county board over expenses. Whether resolved or not, the matter has subsided. Murray believes the agitation was inevitable but has no doubts about the justice of the players' claims.

"I suppose you're always going to get that but you're not going to get everything you want. When you look at it, we've been in four League finals in four years, including the replay. A lot of money has been made through the senior team and players thought they hadn't been getting enough out of that and rightly so.

"When you're going year in, year out, it's hard on the players. We're not looking for a lot and we're not looking for money, just trips and gear, that sort of thing. I know we'll never be happy but as long as you say nothing you'll get nothing."

Having got nothing on the field in recent years, Donegal have an excellent opportunity to win the county's first National League title. The possibility is all the more distinct because of the considerably less pressurised schedule facing the team.