Ballymena United v Crusaders

THE BOSS

David Jeffrey doesn’t need the help of a calculator or mystic to know that today’s Samuel Gelston’s Whiskey Irish Cup final might be his last ever as a manager.

The sands of time and the incalculable nature of knockout football dictate that no-one, not even one of the Irish League’s most decorated managers, can predict the future. The Ballymena United boss, who turns 61 later this year, is looking forward to his 11th blue riband showpiece match as a manager at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park. And he’s preparing to embrace the compelling occasion as he always has… like it’s his last ever dance on local football’s grandest stage. “I am 60 years of age and to be in an Irish Cup final still means a massive amount to me,” said Jeffrey. “If the day and hour that being in a final becomes anything less than what it is to me now, then I won’t be sitting here in front of you. “Please God it’s not my last but I don't know if or when I’ll be in another and that’s the long and short of it. You never know when you’ll be in another. “That’s my attitude heading into this final and that’s where my headspace is at. I have really enjoyed the build-up and now I’m focused on the game. “I know what this means and I know how I and the players will be approaching it.” Jeffrey insists he hasn’t been talking up revenge or uttering the F word (fate) after losing last year’s final in such excruciating circumstances to today’s opponents. Ballymena led 1-0 in the dying seconds of normal time, only for Josh Robinson to force extra time

with Johnny McMurray rifling home a 123rd minute winner for the Crues. “The memory of last year is gone,” said Jeffrey. “We were bitterly disappointed and I have no shame in saying that I cried like a baby in the post match press conference. “It was an awfully cruel way to lose a final and my players emptied the tank - I couldn’t have asked for any more - but there’s no point looking back. “People might say ‘well, surely you have to win it this year’. Others talk about fate. A load of tripe. We know if we don’t perform on the day, we’ll get battered. “We have shown we can compete and we have done well to get to this final, but we’re under no illusions. We know we have to give our best.” Jeffrey says former club vice chairman Don Stirling, who passed away last August, will be firmly in his thoughts as Ballymena United bid to lift the Irish Cup for the first time since 1989. “What Don did for this club over many decades was remarkable and I know he would have been delighted to see Ballymena step out in another Irish Cup final,” he said. “We are immensely proud to have Don’s signature on the back of our shirts and he will be in our thoughts before and during the final. I know he will be remembered with great fondness.” Words Darren Fullerton

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