Hi °C | Lo °C Crossmaglen Rangers are not so much keen on retaining their AIB All Ireland Club football title as absolutely consumed by a desire to extend their tenure at the top.
Manager Donal Murtagh is outwardly cool, almost detached, but his calm exterior masks a steely determination to see his side crowned champions for a second successive year.
That's why Murtagh will be on the road again tomorrow when he will be joined by club officials for the AIB Leinster Club semi-final between Dublin champions St Vincent's and Westmeath aces Tyrellspass in Mullingar.
And Murtagh, conscious that his side have still to play London outfit Tir Conaill Gaels in the All Ireland quarter-final before they can even begin to contemplate confronting the winners of tomorrow's clash in the semi-final, is leaving nothing to chance.
"We know that either St Vincent's or Tyrrellspass would be very difficult opponents in the semi-final if we are lucky enough to get that far," says Murtagh diplomatically.
The fact of the matter, of course, is that if his team's progress is arrested in London then it will be the most seismic of seismic shocks.
Tyrrellspass manager Pat Flanagan, meanwhile, has urged fans from all over Westmeath to get behind his team as they bid to become the first club from the county to win a Leinster senior club football title.
"It's a big day for football in Westmeath. Not since 1973 has a Westmeath team last reached the Leinster final, so we're representing the county. We feel really proud of that," said Flanagan, who was a member of the Clara team that lost the 1991 Leinster club final to Thomas Davis.
The final is being viewed by many in Westmeath as a great opportunity for Martin Flanagan - long regarded as the county's most talented footballer - to finally get his hands on a Leinster medal after controversially missing out on a provincial medal with the county side in 2004.
But his forward colleague David Glennon has been all but ruled out of the clash.
The younger brother of Westmeath star Denis has suffered a recurrence of a hamstring injury.
Tomorrow Tyrrellspass will come up against a St Vincent's side who will look to Mayo ace Pat Kelly and Dublin sharpshooter Mossy Quinn to inspire them to victory.
The latter's accuracy from the placed ball could certainly prove crucial while Kelly's dynamic running and all-round ability will bolster the metropolitan side. It promises to be a contest that will provide much food for thought for the watching Crossmaglen Rangers delegation.
