Title chance energises local rivals

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE: From a national point of view Sunday's Allianz Football League final in Clones could be viewed as a non-event. Cavan and Tyrone, now with a well-worn rivalry, might as well be playing an Ulster championship warm-up.

Yesterday, though, the two respective managers did their best to sell it as a game of true importance. Here are two teams with similar pressure, expectancy, and the simple need to win.

Tyrone, explained joint manager Eugene McKenna, have never won a national senior title of any sort and that's enough to inspire any team. And Cavan, said manager Mattie Kerrigan, don't get chances like this very often and intend to give it their best shot.

In fact McKenna and Kerrigan agreed to agree on everything when they met in Dublin to discuss Sunday's final. The championship may be arriving soon, but unlike the current trend in hurling, there's no reason to keep anything in reserve. Both teams appear fully focused on the present.

On the basis of their recent meetings, Tyrone will start as marginal favourites. "We have had the edge on Cavan in the last couple of years," admitted McKenna. "But I'm sure that fact hasn't been lost on Cavan either. Certainly in last year's Ulster final, Cavan gave us all we could have got."

Kerrigan accepted that Cavan are the more surprising finalists. "Well, if someone said to me at the start of the league we'd make the final, I'd have said that would be dodgy. Obviously we took each game as it came because we were getting to know the players all the time. But full credit goes to the players because they responded very well to the new management.

"As we went along and won games, and lost games we should have won, and then we ended up in a position where we were playing Sligo for a place in the play-offs. It was only then we decided to give it our best shot."

Tyrone contested their sole league final in 1992, narrowly losing to Derry. Last year they established promising momentum but suffered because of foot-and-mouth, and were left pondering what might have been.

"Well that's history now," said McKenna. "And it hasn't even been mentioned this year. At the time it was difficult for everyone in the team, but it's had no bearing at all on this league run.

"Tyrone have never won a national senior title and of course that's one of the important things about this match on Sunday. If we do beat Cavan at least people can't use that statistic anymore.

"But there's always pressure to deliver a title in Tyrone. And there is a strong desire there now for this senior team to deliver, but that's always been there all the years I've been involved with Tyrone as a player and a manager."

Neither manager felt that the all-Ulster pairing would take anything away from the title. And they won't be making any excuses on the day if they lose, even though Cavan (against Donegal on May 12th) and Tyrone (against Armagh on May 19th) both make their championship debuts so soon after.

"You find managers always have some sort of excuse when they lose in the league," said Kerrigan.

"They'll probably mention that Galway lost in the final last year and went on to win the All-Ireland. That would be one good one for Sunday.

"No, as far as I'm concerned every manager goes out to win every game. But when you do lose you do need to find some sort of psychological thing to carry the team through."

McKenna agrees: "When you're beaten in the league, then it suddenly losses its importance. But that's part of process of finding some positive in defeat. All players have to find a reason for losing and satisfy their own minds before going out the next Sunday.

"And that's part of management's role, but you can only be critical up to a point. It's inevitable that you will learn more after you lose. And certainly the game we lost against Donegal was a big lesson for us. But I believe this Tyrone panel probably has the potential to be the strongest panel I've ever been involved with.

"There is a good balance now in physical strength, and when we came back we set the players on a weight-training programme.

"And they have been very methodical in carrying that out. They embraced it early and it's starting to bear fruit at this stage."

Both men were drawn back into management after periods away from the scene but found the call back difficult to resist.

"I suppose for me it was unfinished business to some extent," said McKenna, who two years ago linked up again with Art McRory. "When we lost in 1996 there were still some loose ends there, and when we came back it seemed that there was recognition that we had done a reasonably good job the last time. So it was good to get that chance to try and take the final step."

Kerrigan also welcomed his chance: "Well, like anyone that enjoys football and likes being involved, it was a good opportunity. When the call came this time I agonised a little bit but I was impressed before with the Cavan county board, so I decided eventually I'd give it a shot."