SFC preview: Champions taking nothing for granted

So far, so good for the Gaels. The reigning county champions have made it back to the final two with the minimum of fuss this season, disposing of Lacken, Mullahoran and Ramor United in the process. Club PRO Philip Finnegan, however, is quick to dismiss any talk in the county that Sunday"s final will be merely a coronation ceremony for the town side. 'It"s not won until it"s won,' states Finnegan simply. 'There are some around the county who say it"s going to be a cakewalk - it won"t be. Far from it. This is our ninth final on the trot and the boys are experienced enough to know that we have to get into our heads that the game must be won. 'Denn have nothing to lose, they are in their first final ever and they will go for it. On any given day, anything could happen. If we don"t approach this game properly, we will be in big trouble.' Cavan Gaels" incredible conveyor belt of talent actually seems to be increasing in pace rather than slowing down. The likes of Daniel Graham, Martin Dunne and Niall Murray have added hugely to this year"s senior squad. 'A few young players have come in and they have fitted in very well,' says the official. 'Daniel Graham has done very well at wing half back, Martin Dunne is another. The advantage is that some of the older boys have played in nine senior finals and they are looking over their shoulders, which is great. Competition is the life of trade. I don"t know the starting team but the minors are pushing the senior boys on and that is what keeps things fresh.' The champions have made a seamless transition from old manager Malachy O"Rourke to the current incumbent Mick O"Dowd, and the team have picked up where they left off last season. 'Against Lacken we played well enough but we didn"t play well against Mullahoran, in fact we were very lucky that day,' recalls Finnegan. 'Mullahoran had opportunities to score 1-2 and missed them, so we were very concerned after that game. Ramor then came along and had been very impressive but that was probably our best performance in the past two years. We hit the ground running, hit them early and just caught them cold.' A similar start this Sunday would make Denn"s task even tougher, according to Finnegan. 'We have to go in to this game the same way again. The thing about having a big win in a semi-final is that you can take your foot off the pedal, and we know what happened with Killygarry and Denn, at half-time Killygarry should have been way, way ahead but they weren"t and Denn came back. Denn will try, naturally enough, to grind us down slowly but surely whereas we will want to get off to a great start. It"s a county final and anything goes. 'We will be confident but not complacent, there is a huge difference. Denn will represent themselves to the best of their honour and we accept that. On form we will be favourites but you can have an off-day and we"re taking nothing for granted.'