Lean, mean and ultra-keen to bring the Andy Merrigan Cup back to Portlaoise, Colm Parkinson is hopeful that the 17th of March will be a red letter day for the midland club. After the dismally poor season the footballers of Portlaoise experienced in 2003, things, in the eyes of the local faithful, could only have improved. But even the ebullient, seemingly ever-optimistic Colm Parkinson admits that he didn't really imagine the county town side embarking on the sort of odyssey that has seen them one match away from being crowned the best club team in the country. It's been some journey for Parkinson and his clubmates since they exited the Laois Senior Football Championship at the quarter-final stage. "Losing to St. Joseph's left a really bad taste in our mouths and it took a long time for that to disappear. "You could say that we didn't need much motivation to do a lot better last year," the county star explains. The rehabilitation process for Portlaoise in '04 began in earnest with the eclipsing of the Laois Senior Football Championship title in mid-October with a win over Emo. Victory by 0-15 to 0-7 was as comfortable for the would-be All-Ireland club finalists as the final scoreline suggests. Emo, in their first blue riband final for a decade were poor and failed to test Portlaoise in anything like the way Portarlington had managed earlier in the competition - Portlaoise's only real test en route to capturing yet another Laois SFC title. Our man Parkinson contributed three handsome points to his side's winning tally against Emo while other big guns, Ian Fitzgerald and Peter McNulty did likewise. "There'd been a lot of blathering done about doing well in Leinster in previous years but nothing came of it. I had a different feeling all along this year though. "But the real talk about winning the provincial title didn't really start 'till after we had seen off Emo," the former adventurous defender 'cum flying attacker reflects. Portlaoise seemed destined to triumph in the county SFC in '04 and, as things panned out, the club's provincial championship campaign was painted on a similar canvas. "No team really came within a handful of points of beating us in Laois apart from Portarlington drawing with us. That was the only hop we got along the way." An indication of Portlaoise's intent came almost exactly one month after the win over Emo when Offaly champions Rhode, fancied by many to capture their first senior provincial championship title, were walloped in the quarter-final, 3-10 to 0-4, in Tullamore. In a poor game, Portlaoise played any football that was played against Offaly's finest. As for our man Parkinson, he ended up receiving the Man of the Match award. In fact it was Wooly's goal into the teeth of the elements in the 12th minute - part of a 1-3 contribution in total - helped turn the tide irrevocably in Portlaoise's favour. Things proceeded to get better and better for the men from the O'Moore County. It seemed all the pieces were fitting into the jigsaw. "I think you have to give our new team-management a lot of credit for the way things have gone. "Then we've had a few additions to the squad this year which has helped a lot. "Martin Delaney has returned from the US and fellas such as ex-county minors Peter McNulty, Barry Fitzgerald and Cathal Healy have all come in. "Tommy Fitzgerald is another great addition because he hadn't previous figured on the senior team so there's a great balance about the team this year." Interestingly, Colm rates the current Portlaoise side as comfortably the best he's ever featured with and he was quietly confident that the midland side had the ability to bury the ghost of some three years ago when Na Fianna halted the team's progress in Leinster. Colm is conscious of the fact that the Leinstermen are just a matter of days away from a chance of winning the club's first All-Ireland senior club football title since 1983. "The club has one hell of a tradition of winning, not only in Laois, but also in Leinster and nationally and it's great to listen to fellas who like to relive the great days. "I don't ever get tired of listening to what the club won in the 'eighties but it would be nice to repeat some of the success from those days." Colm is banking on building on a repeat of the team's gutsy win against Crossmaglen in the semi-final to carry them over the finishing line in pole position on the 17th. "The funny thing is we didn't perform that well as a team against Crossmaglen and winning by just a single point (0-8 to 0-7) was a reflection of that. "It was probably the toughest draw we could have got but we matched them physically, showed a lot of spirit and got just enough scores to edge them out. "The real bonus for us though was that we won with Kevin Fitzpatrick, Brian McCormick and myself out of sorts on the day. "The forwards only scored three points from play against Crossmaglen and that was disappointing. It was just as well that our backline was exceptional in the semi-final. "We didn't do our stuff up front but the backs made up for that by making sure that they (Cross) always had to shoot under pressure or were forced into making a bad pass. "The fact that our defence only conceded seven scores to a team such as Crossmaglen tells its own story about how well they played." 'Wooly', as he is known, is returning to full-fitness following his two months break from holidaying in Thailand and hopes to be at his flying best for St. Patrick's Day. "It was a good break in Thailand and now I'm getting back my full fitness," he says. "I got the chance to train on my own when I was over there. "I had it in my head to just go away for a while but obviously the further we went in the club Championship, the less chance I had. "After we won the Leinster title, there was almost a three-month break to the next game so I got a chance to make the trip. All in all, I was away for seven weeks. "The rest of the lads had the guts of a month off as well but it's been all guns blazing since Christmas," the versatile countyman explains. Colm Parkinson is one of a core of players who have played together for a lot of years now. It seems they have faith in one another this year to finally go the distance. The team has the talent, undoubtedly. It has the physical strength to 'mix' it if need be but is there any possibility that they'll all fluff their lines on the big day? "I don't think there's any chance of the team freezing if that's what you mean. "I think everyone of the team has experience of Croke Park apart from Brian Mulligan so the stadium will hold no fear for us. "There are so many of the lads that have played there with the various county teams that we should be a lot more familiar with it than Ballina. "But just in the way the All-Ireland club competition seems to throw up a new team every year, the final has thrown up a few surprises and so we're ready for anything." Not one for underestimating any opposition, 'Wooly' says Portlaoise had the utmost respect for Crossmaglen and the same will apply to the meeting with Ballina in the final "We don't know too much about them right now but that'll be sorted out well in advance of the final; there's no doubt about that. "I think it'll be a close affair. They seem to like to play open football and that'll suit us too. "They've got a few very talented countymen in their side and they won't be turning up just to fulfill the fixture. "Our lads are all very relaxed about the game though and we're confident that if we produce our best that that will be good enough to win the Andy Merrigan Cup." Tweet

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