Captain Douglas and the 'secret' to Trim's success

Trim captain Alan Douglas says it's important for the Trim players to stay focused on the task of winning Sunday's All-Ireland Club IFC final at Croke Park rather than becoming distracted by the magnitude of the occasion.

Douglas has played at headquarters a number of times with the Meath hurling and football teams - and he knows how a player can be distracted by performing in the Big House.

"We have a few lads who have experience of playing in there, we just have to focus on our job, settle in, not play the occasion as opposed to playing the game," he said earlier today.

Trim have gone on a long, undefeated run and Douglas says his team will approach Sunday's big showdown in the same way as any other assignment they have take on on their relentless, history-making march to the final.

He doesn't have any issue with the fact that Sunday's opponents - Ulster champions Steelstown Brian Ogs from Derry - have been made favourites to win by the bookies.

Placed in the category of underdogs is where you want to be going into an All-Ireland final, he suggests, adding with conviction that he and his colleague are going to Croker to win, nothing less.

"We have approached the game the exact same way we have looked at them, we know their strengths and we're looking to impose our own game on the match on Sunday.

"They're favourties and rightly so, they have toppled the pre-championship favourites Na Gaeil from Kerry. Steelstown are a good side and we're not going up there to see how things go we're going up there to try and win the game, that's our aim."

Trim, he adds, will not lack for motivation as the player will be already driven to win "both for themselves and Trim."

So what is the secret of Trim's success? What are the factors that have combined to help the team in red and white put together a winning run of 20 consecutive victories that is one of the greatest in the club's history?

"From the very start of the year Kevin (manager Kevin Reilly) brought a great professionalism to the whole set up. Anything he asked of the lads to do they did it.

"He worked really well with the whole dual system in Trim (the demands of the hurling and football teams) and that has played to his advantage as well.

"There's a good group of young lads there, a couple who have come on the scene the last couple of years who have really pushed things on."

The team captain suggests that Trim's chastening experience of losing out in two Meath IFC finals in recent years has engendered a huge desire among the players to make an impact this time around. The defeats have not been forgotten, the pain turned into an overwhelming desire to succeed.

"There's also the fact lads have being harbouring the defeats of the last few years. Harbouring all that and using it to their advantage, going back at it again and trying to improve the whole time," he adds.

The All-Ireland Club championship hasn't gone seamlessly for Douglas as he was sent off in the Leinster final victory over Clara but he will lead the team out on Sunday and look to guide them to what would be a famous victory.

Trim faces a regular challenge in that they field teams in hurling and football at senior level.

Douglas talks of how throughout 2021 Trim's football manager, Kevin Reilly, and the club's senior hurling boss Neil Cole, worked closely together to ensure the dual players were "fresh going into every game."

As part of the process there was a big focus on how much training the players were doing from week to week. That too has been another major factor in the team's success.

As the months passed Trim footballers approached every challenge in the old, time-honoured way of taking one game at a time. It has worked like a treat.

"We didn't get carried away with ourselves, we weren't thinking of getting to an All-Ireland final. As much as we have confidence in ourselves, how good we are, we just opted to think of taking every game as it came.

"That was the approach we have taken all year in the Meath championship, we've literally taken just one game at a time and see what comes, and here we are in a final, it has been great."

The community in Trim have responded to the team's progress, the many flags sprouting from buildings in and around the town an indication of the swell of community good-will that will accompany the team to Croke Park on Sunday.

"I've never seen anything like it around the town it's just being incredible, the whole town is up for it, after the semi-final (when Connacht champions St Faithleach's were defeated 1-11 to 0-11 at The Downs) the pitch was full of people who stayed out there soaking up the atmosphere for, it must be 40 or 50 minutes, after the game, chatting, just enjoying the occasion.

"I imagine it will be similar on Sunday. There probably is going to be a massive crowd from Trim going up. I hear from speaking to people there will be loads of buses taking supporters up to the game. It will be great for us for them to be behind us and hopefully we can get over the line."

Sixty years ago Trim won the Meath SFC (the last time they won the Keegan Cup) and a victory on Sunday would be the perfect way to mark the 60th anniversary.