On the evening that Monaghan ambushed Fermanagh in the Ulster championship, the victorious manager was back in his premises, Jack's Bar, watching the BBC highlights of the game.

Afterwards, the panel began to analyse the match and presenter Jerome Quinn turned to the pundits and wondered how Monaghan took the day if they were, as was so often alleged, the worst team in Ulster.

"We have heard that so often before and okay, we have not been going well in recent years but even so, the term is a little bit dismissive and it is something we are anxious to shake off," said Jack McCarville yesterday.

The Monaghan man, from Tydavnet, just outside of Scotstown, has quietly reorganised his unfashionable county side over the winter. The Fermanagh coup, in front of an expectant Brewster Park crowd, was a perfect blend of planning and execution.

"Aye, well we saw them twice against Donegal and were familiar with their game plan but we also felt as if they had been blown up to an extent, that they were Ulster champions apparent without even kicking a ball. But it is easy to plan for teams - the difficult part was putting that into action and the way we did that was pleasing."

The basis for Monaghan's turnaround lay in the video of last year's mauling by the same opponents, which McCarville candidly dismissed as "desperate".

"We really were. If you look at it, I think we caught one ball in the middle of the field in the whole 70 minutes. They fetched balls totally uncontested. We stood back, weren't competitive, didn't put the tackles in. We turned that around on the training field this year, I think. I believe that training breeds confidence because no footballer can go into a game operating at the edge unless they are certain they have the fitness there."

So rigidly does this principle apply that McCarville opted to persist with a scheduled training session instead of going to watch Cavan and Down.

"So we haven't had the chance to familiarise ourselves to the same extent. But I watched a video of the game recently and you know, they (Cavan) have very good forwards, the half-back line impressed and they had untold possession against Down. In a way, it wasn't a true reflection because they could have won the game so comfortably. Now we would be hopeful of denying them that kind of possession but they are a good side."

Against Fermanagh, McCarville's side built on the foundation of early goals. Will they need more goals to profit in the championship? "Well, we hit an average of 12 points a game but our concession average has been 13. So we have been conscious of tightening up in defence."

McCarville was a selector on the Monaghan team that dumped a hot Donegal side out of the championship in 1995. When he sums up his county's experiences since then, he is really only talking about a handful of games.

"Michael McCormack was putting a nice team together then and if he'd been left - there was a bit of hassle - I think he would have brought them places. Then we had a narrow loss against Cavan and drew Derry twice in the first round. Small things. But Monaghan has a great tradition, we were consistent in the '80s and '70s and we need to get back there. It is 13 years since we have won an Ulster championship."

He is convinced that a win on Sunday against Cavan would start a significant new wave for football in the county.

"Already the buzz is tremendous but getting to an Ulster final would have a great bearing on both the development of our squad and on the expectations of youngsters playing the game here. Before the championship, there was joking in the bar that at least we'd get two days out with the losers round but we are not even thinking about that, it hasn't entered our heads. We want to do as well as we can in Ulster."