Kevin McKernan says the current crop of Down players will be aiming to make their own piece of history in Sunday's All-Ireland football final.

The Mourne County boasts an unblemished All-Ireland final record, winning five from five, and this is something the 22-year-old centre back is all too aware of.

"Down hasn't lost an All-Ireland final but Mickey Linden or Sean O'Neill isn't going to score a goal for us come the third Sunday of September," he said.

"It's this group of players who want to make their own history. We've been training hard all year and we're in an All-Ireland final.

"We didn't think we would be, but now we are, we want to make the most of it. Down teams haven't had the continual success teams like Tyrone and Kerry have had. Every year you go out and you hope rather than expect but there are good players in Down."

The Burren clubman, whose father Brendan was corner back on Down's 1991 All-Ireland winning team, admits that he never expected to be within 70 minutes of September glory at the start of the year.

"Well, Down teams haven't really been there or thereabouts in any year. It's been 16 years of hurt within Down. Now that it's come, it's great but at the start of the year if you'd told me we'd be in an All-Ireland final... yeah you'd have hoped, but now the expectation is there and we are 70 minutes away from it," he added. Tweet

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