CHANCE OF A LIFETIME; TOMORROW FOOTBALL ANTRIM v CAVAN 7PM CLONES.

Byline: ORLA BANNON

MICHAEL McCANN has urged his Antrim teammates to seize the moment against Cavan tomorrow night and grab this unique chance to reach an Ulster final.

A place in the decider beckons for one of these successstarved counties and McCann hopes the Saffrons can create history for themselves.

"At the start of the year I certainly didn't see myself playing in an Ulster final and now I'm 70 minutes away from it," he admitted.

"If the boys don't step up now... well we might never get a better chance.

"I'd say this is the best chance Antrim ever had of reaching an Ulster final, and finals can go any way.

"But Cavan is going to be tough. Maybe Fermanagh got their tactics wrong on the day but Cavan still beat a very good Fermanagh team.

"They are well-organised.

"They didn't have a great league campaign and I'd say the win against Fermanagh will have given them as much confidence as we've got out of the Donegal game." One of the reasons Antrim are fancied to beat Cavan is that they have more players who are used to big occasions.

McCann is a case in point, having won Hogan and MacRory Cup medals with St Pat's Maghera a few years ago. He's from Cargin who, along with former Ulster club champions St Gall's, make up the bulk of the county squad.

The raw talent was always there and the 23-year-old thinks their Derry management team of Liam Bradley and Niall Conway have just helped them realise it.

"I wouldn't say any of the managers in the past were poor managers in any way, it's just when Liam and Niall came in they really have driven that bit of belief into players," explained McCann.

"I've quoted Liam on it from day one. He said at the start of the year he believed we'd get out of Division Four and that we'd beat Donegal.

"Saying we'd beat Donegal was a big call but he said it and he kept saying it.

"People have questioned him - even people within the panel at the start of the year.

"I know even during the match there were people still with that wee doubt in the back of their heads but after that result, he has all the respect that he needs.

"Now people have seen we can beat the best teams, everybody is there training believing they can win.'' McCann, whose younger brother Tomas scored the crucial goal in Ballybofey, insists that even though Donegal hit 18 wides their victory was deserved.

It was a triumph for all the lower ranked teams who work just as hard as the Tyrones and Kerrys in the pursuit of their goal.

"You hear these great stories about Brian Dooher training his heart out and people like that, but unsuccessful teams still do as much hard work as everybody else.

"It just takes a while to make that breakthrough. I've been on the panel since 2004 and beating Donegal was my first championship win so it was a sweet one. To win in Ballybofey is a big result for anybody, never mind us.

"After years of training and the winters' training and all the hard work we have put in, it's brilliant when it finally pays off."

McCann was switched from midfield to full-forward against Donegal and rated his performance as satisfactory.

"I'd like to think there's more in the tank," he revealed, "hopefully against Cavan I can push on a bit."

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DISPLAY Michael McCann says there's a lot more to come from him and Antrim