Enniskillen head coach Stevie Welsh stresses that they will not be satisfied with just reaching two finals this season - indeed he says that the season will only be a success if they can round things off at Kingspan Stadium on Monday by lifting the Ulster Junior Cup.

Skins have already contested one final at the stadium this season when they lost the All Ireland Junior decider to neighbours Clogher Valley and he is hoping that they can make amends for that loss by getting the better of a strong Ballyclare side.

“It would be great to come home with the cup. I don’t like the whole nearly thing or people saying well done to you for getting to a final or a semi final. We are hard on ourselves and we won’t be happy unless we have silverware. We’ve done it before and it would mean a hell of a lot to go and do it again,” said Welsh who led Skins to their only previous Ulster Junior Cup success back in January 2020.

The team is much changed from that victory with a lot of young players coming into the 1st XV but Welsh is pleased with the progress they are making over the course of this season.

“We can definitely see progress in the boys, they are more professional and clinical. The semi-final (against City of Derry) was really tough, it was maybe one we would have struggled with in the first half of the season but all the wee mistakes they are learning from them which is all you can ask. Obviously, there is going to be mistakes and if you don’t learn from them then they really are mistakes but they are learning and I’m really happy with the progress,” he added.

For a lot of the squad the All Ireland Junior final loss to Clogher was a first taste of playing in a big final at Kingspan and Welsh believes they will benefit from having that experience under their belts.

“That team there was probably only a handful who had played there before so at least they will know the experience of a final day at Kingspan. It is a different kind of energy and a different buzz about the game and it is good that they will all have had a taste of it.”

And he hopes that they use the hurt from that loss as something to drive them on this Monday.

“The boys are very lucky this season to get another go to put that defeat to bed. That is what we said in the changing room after that game, ‘put this feeling away and bring it back up whenever you are getting it tight in a game or situation and use that as a positive thing to drive on from’,” he added.

Skins may be a team in transition but they also have some players with experience of winning big finals like Gavin Warrington, James Ferguson and captain James Carleton.

“Those experienced players are important. Its a great to bring James (Ferguson) in, he was great in the semi-final and even at training on Saturday morning the boys were a wee bit nervous and jumpy and Guv (Gavin Warrington) just pulled the boys over and settled them down, he’s been there and done that. Even the likes of Jack Rutledge, he’s young but he has four or five finals under his belt at Kingspan so that is massive experience there too and we will need that,” he said.

Welsh expects a tough test against a Ballyclare side who have already claimed the Towns’ Cup this season but he says that they will be focussing on their own game and getting that right.

“It will be a difficult, Ballyclare are a good side and I would say it will be a frantic game.

“To be honest, though, we haven’t even watched any Ballyclare videos, we know what they are about and we’ll will focus on ourselves. We want to use our power game and at the right times move the ball about. Eddie (Keys) gets most games right at 10, he feels the way the games is going and plays into space whether running or kicking and just keeps the pressure on,” added Welsh.

And he believes that it is key that Skins keep the scoreboard ticking over whenever they can on Monday.

“That is what really impressed in the semi-final, they were all over us for the first 15 minute but we went up and scored then and then in the second half the game was still in the balance but James (Carleton) kept opting to kick for points and Eddie kept slotting them over and before you know it you are building a bit of breathing space for yourself.

“Any chance you have in a final you have to take points. You don’t have another chance in a cup final so you have to take all the chances you get,” he said.