Cavan are not amongst the favourites for the 2008 Ulster SFC but they demonstrated sufficiently encouraging early-season form to suggest that they could emerge as genuine dark horses. Young Butlersbridge midfielder Lorcan Mulvey sees no reason why Donal Keogan's Breffni Blues can't step up to the Anglo Celt plate this summer. It's a big season for Cavan football. The manager is in the second year of his tenure and he'll expect his new-look team to make definite strides forward. As Ulster is a minefield, they'll get nothing easy in the championship - but Cavan possess the capacity to cause upsets during the months ahead. The Breffni boys started the competitive year impressively, with a decent run in the McKenna Cup (they were pipped by eventual winners Down at the semi-final stage) and a brave effort in the NFL Division Two opener against Armagh in their spiritual home of Crossmaglen. By early February, it was already apparent that this young team knows no fear - an approach epitomised by midfielder Lorcan Mulvey: "It's great to get into Division Two and to go up against the big boys. That's a challenge in itself," says the Butlersbridge clubman. "Hopefully the experience of playing at this level will help us prepare better for the league than we did in 2007. Our biggest challenge is to stay up in that division, and then we'll take it from there." Lorcan is adamant that playing in the lower echelons of the NFL impaired Cavan's prospects in '07, when the step-up to the rigours of championship football proved a bridge too far. Thus, he feels Division Two offers a good opportunity for the players to put things right. "You will only get better by playing regularly against better teams. We're in the same division as Cork, Dublin and Meath - three All-Ireland semi-finalists from last year - so those games should bring us on a lot. Armagh, Westmeath, Monaghan and Roscommon are also good sides, so the league will be more beneficial to us than it was in 2007. "We have a tough game every week, and it's going to be difficult, but this is exactly what you want at this time of year." Ultimately, the league will be forgotten. All roads lead to the championship and the provincial knockout opener against Antrim, which all Cavan people hope that will mark the beginning of a run to the Ulster final. "You look to challenge in Ulster every year," Lorcan continues. "Antrim will be bringing out all their big boys this year and they'll have a strong team, so we'll have to be ready for a difficult match. "If we get past Antrim, we can put it up to Armagh. They would be hot favourites and that would suit us fine. Anything could happen after that and it would be a dream come true to win the Ulster championship. We have quality players - as good as you'll get in any county in Ulster - so if we get on a run we could take a lot of stopping." Is there pressure on the team, though? With no provincial title since 1997, are Cavan supporters becoming impatient? After all, the Breffni County has a tradition that's second to none in Ulster. "The supporters have been critical at times, but they have every right to be. When they go out and support us in large numbers on a horrible rainy day in the McKenna Cup, they're entitled to voice their opinion. In fairness, the fans have always looked after the county team in Cavan and you can't say anything bad about them. They have every right to give out when they want to. We haven't given them the results they deserve, but hopefully this year we will do it for them." The Butlersbridge man believes the great history of the county can be used as an inspirational tool. "It's a motivation, because you know what has gone before you and you have to try to live up to that. We can use it to our advantage. With a Cavan man in charge of the team, that should also bring the passion back. If you have a man within your own county who's good enough, then that's always the way to go. Donal is the right man for the job and hopefully we can all learn from the mistakes of last year." Of course, it's easy to forget how unfortunate Cavan were in '07 when they were beaten by Down after a replay. The Mourne County then lost narrowly to Monaghan, who went on to pen one of the stories of the '07 SFC. It just shows how fine the line is. Lorcan is hoping Cavan will get the right breaks this summer and he certainly has no inferiority complex going into battle as he has played against - and beaten - all the top counties in the province during his days with the Breffni County minors and U21s (reaching an Ulster final in the latter grade). "The lads who came through from that side won't fear anyone and we also have the likes of Ronan Flanagan and a few other young lads starting to come through now, which will help us in the long run. As well as the newer faces, we also have plenty of experience from Jason [Reilly], Anthony [Forde] and Dermot [McCabe], so the balance in the side is quite good," says the energetic and athletic midfielder. At club level, Lorcan is hoping Butlersbridge can regain promotion to intermediate ranks once more: "We have new dressing-rooms now and it would be nice to bring the junior cup home again for the third time. It's my aim to play intermediate football with 'the Bridge' every year. We need to establish ourselves as an intermediate club. That's the next step. We're good enough to do it. We have the talent, so it's a matter of going out on the field and expressing ourselves. Anything less than a junior championship would be regarded as a failure this year. "Brendan Nelligan is staying on for another year and he has the experience to steer us to the championship if we all give the necessary commitment." Away from football, Lorcan works as a junior foreman for Aidan Elliot Construction. At the time of writing, he was engaged on a development of retail units and apartments for Richmond Properties at Stepaside in Dublin. The Cavan footballer has been with the company for five years and has nothing but respect for the owner: "Aidan is a huge supporter of Cavan football and he gives a lot of his time to football, as well as a lot of sponsorship. He played in goal for Cavan himself, as has his son Owen. He's always been very understanding whenever I need a bit of time off, so I'm fortunate to have a boss like him." Tweet

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