Roslea manager Peter McGinnity knows that his side will be the underdogs on Sunday when they take on Derrygonnelly in the Senior Football Championship final but he stresses that now they are in the final, they will be doing everything within their means to get their hands on a first New York Cup in five years.

The Shamrocks had been the dominant force in Fermanagh football in the early part of this decade, winning four titles between 2010 and 2014 but a final defeat to Derrygonnelly in 2015 saw a changing of the guard and the Harps have very much cemented their spot at number one as they go in search of a fifth successive title on Sunday.

Indeed, McGinnity has admitted that they have possibly surprised themselves in getting this far but they are not just satisfied with playing in the final.

“Look, Roslea are delighted to be back in a county final I know some of the more experienced players are even more so delighted because they probably thought that they were finished with county finals and the younger players are chuffed to be in a county final.

“But, if I were to say ‘we’re delighted to be there and thanks very much’ that would be all wrong. We are going to work as hard as we can to make sure that we are there or thereabouts and then we’ll see what happens, I suppose,” said the former All Star.

Both sides have reached the final despite injuries and unavailability. McGinnity lost Niall Cassidy to an ankle injury late in the league and he likens his loss to the one that Derrygonnelly suffered with Paul Ward.

“Look at Niall Cassidy and Paul Ward. You don’t always know what a player is bringing to the table until you don’t have them. I now know exactly what Niall Cassidy was bringing to the table and I presume Derrygonnelly are in the same position with Paul Ward. Both are very experienced and certainly I’m sure Derrygonnelly wouldn’t mind having Paul Ward as we would with Niall Cassidy. He is not available though and we will just have to get on with it.”

He refused though to fully rule out James McMahon who has missed their two championship games to date after he sustained an injury in their last league game.

“There is a real desire in James to be fit but I’m just not sure whether the desire and his body match up at the minute, so I don’t know. He is massively motivated to play and we’ll give him every chance. He is such a good player to have about the place, very mature, obviously a county player and speaks very well. Even when he wasn’t training with us he was still contributing something to the group,” added McGinnity.

The Shamrocks boss also knows that his side will be coming up against a team that simply know how to win and have players all over the pitch that can step up to the plate.

“I thought last year in the championship and the Ulster Club that Derrygonnelly looked a very seasoned team and and because of that experience you don’t know who is going to be the significant player on Sunday. There will be three or four boys that will step up that maybe weren’t as good in the previous matches and that experience will carry them through sticky patches.”

For Roslea to hold their own though McGinnity acknowledges that they have to do well with whatever possession they get their hands on.

“They have certainly advantages in and around midfield but we will have to make sure that when they are playing well we restrict them to manageable amounts of scores and at the same time when we do have possession we need to maximise it. We can’t be kicking ball away and doing silly things with it, we need to maximise possession,” he said.

As the two dominant forces over the last ten years, McGinnity feels it may bring a bit of an edge to the contest.

“Derrygonnelly will not want to be stopped in getting their five in row by Roslea and Roslea, having gone to the effort of getting to the final, will not like to be beaten by Derrygonnelly.”