SFC Final Preview: ‘The reality for us is that we have good players and they are competitive animals’

Conor Gillespie doesn't take anything for granted. It is the way he was rared and the experience he has gained through a long career with both Summerhill and Meath.

In most people's eyes Summerhill were nailed on certainties to return to their fifth Keegan Cup final in seven years, but Gillespie was never arrogant enough that that would be the case.

"I would never take for granted the ability to get to a final. Our ambition from the start was to get back here and to win it, but at the same time we conscious of how difficult it is to get to finals," said the Summerhill manager.

"When I grew up we were in a final in 1990, but the next one after that wasn't until 2008, so times can turn for any club and we never take for granted how hard it is to get to a county final.

"We did expect to be back here and that is where we are and we will look forward to it now.

"What we are expected to do in Summerhill is to give it everything we have. We are expected to produce a quality attitude and give it our best effort and we are in a period now where we have good players, so when you have a good attitude and good players then you are expected to compete.

"We are not arrogant enough in Summerhill to think that is always going to be the case. We have seen times where we were fighting relegation.

"That was the task at the time and the lads did that job at that time. No disrespect to them lads, they just didn't have the players at that time to win the championship, but they still produced with the same attitude that I would expect from our team to do.

"There is more of an expectation of how you carry yourself and how you perform. How good the players are you have on the day determines how good you can be so that is the way we see it in Summerhill."

That approach is an admirable one from the small rural club that consistently punches well above their weight and is regarded as one of the finest in the country.

However four final defeats in the last six years would be enough to break any great club's spirit - but not Gillespie and not Summerhill.

"The reality for us is that we have good players and they are competitive animals. They are not going to shy away just because they lost a few games, that doesn't dim the enthusiasm," said Gillespie.

"There will isn't broken just because of defeat, they are as hungry as ever to try to come back and win.

"The thing with our lads, and in Summerhill in general, is that they have a huge respect for the club. They have respect for the people in the club, the people that support them, the families around the club and it is that respect that drives an attitude within the lads.

"There is no acceptance of anybody to throw their hat at it or not to bother their arse or not give their full effort. That just wouldn't be acceptable because the lads have too much respect for the club, the people that support them and the people that have gone before them.

"If you are giving your best and you are decent players then you will always have a chance to get back to a final, so it just wouldn't be accepted by our lads to throw their hat at it after a defeat.

"The day we are not good enough to get back here is fine, but it wouldn't be good enough to accept that and not try."

Summerhill enjoyed a relatively straightforward run to the last four with wins over Ballinabrackey, Gaeil Colmcille, Wolfe Tones and Trim, but then their resolve was tested against Donaghmore/Ashbourne in the semi-final.

"The tough game against Donaghmore/Ashbourne was important. Historically when we have played Ashbourne we have always played each other well, they have always been tight games.

"They had a lot of experienced players who were used to playing us. Going into the game there was an outside perception that we might win easier than we did, but that wasn't how I saw it, I knew it would be difficult.

"We didn't play to the standard that we wanted and that contributed to it being a game that could have gone either way. I knew Ashbourne would bring it and I was glad our lads were able to dig it out when it wasn't going all their own way.

"If we were playing poor stuff all year we would be concerned with our semi-final performance, but on a one-off basis that performance won't dent our confidence in terms of what we know we are capable of doing. We will just go back to work and make sure that that doesn't happen again the next day."

So after losing to Ratoath in 2019 and last year will Gillespie and his management aim to try something different this time around?

"You have a fair idea what you're going to get with Ratoath. You are going to get a good team that is going to try to beat you, they are champions for three out of the last four years for a reason.

"They have a heck of a squad, they are well coached and well managed. They are very competitive and they are going to give up nothing easy, so it is going to be a hell of a game.

"We won't be change a huge pile of how we play. Every game we have a little tweak or a point of emphasis for an opponent, but by and large we try to do what we want to do and then there might be a little bit of opposition key men that you have to try to sort out.

"By and large we are not ripping up the script game to game. We have what we want to do and we will try to do that to the best of our ability," concluded the Summerhill boss.