Given their record against Monaghan in the league and championship over the past seven years, Cavan's footballers would be forgiven if they approached Sunday's Ulster semi-final meeting with trepidation. "Not so," insists Cavan captain Peter Reilly, who would have more reason than any of his teammates to dwell on past failures.

"The first time I wore the Cavan senior jersey was in 1994. They (Monaghan) came to Breffni Park for the championship and beat us, then in the league campaign of 1999-2000 they again finished on top."

However Reilly (25), insists his team will not be over-awed on Sunday. "The colour of the jerseys will be the only thing in common with those earlier meetings," says the Dublin-based quantity surveyor.

"I don't know a lot about them (Monaghan), they probably know a lot less about us, given that our team has changed so much since last year. Over the past few seasons I have been involved with two almost entirely different Cavan teams. "The first-round match against Down (which Cavan won 1-14 to 2-10) saw the majority of the present team making debuts, from new goalkeeper Aaron Donohue onwards. We have five new defenders, one new midfielder and two new forwards and, I must say, they all coped well against Down and were justifiably included." Defenders Tom Prior, Eddie Jackson and James Doonan are typical examples of championship newcomers taking the whole thing in their stride.

Now that Gerry Sheridan is unable to take his place in the defence due to injury, only Anthony Forde of last year's defence figures in Sunday's team. In midfield, Dermot McCabe looks to have found an ideal partner in Barry McCrudden. It may look like quite a basis for an unsettled squad but Val Andrews has carefully crafted a team of which much can be expected.

Reilly himself is fully convinced that his side have the ability to return to the Ulster final scene: "If I didn't I wouldn't bother training," he says. Reilly figured in the side that won the Ulster title in 1997 but had a forgettable All-Ireland semi-final experience in Croke Park. "We were very disappointed with that defeat by Kerry, we just didn't do ourselves justice on the day.

"For us to win, in fact for any team to win any decent championship match, you are depending on at least 10 to 12 players producing five-star performances on the day.

"This immediately puts pressure on our prominent players such as Dermot McCabe and Anthony Forde, but no one or two players can be relied upon to be bankers in a team's prospects.

"At least our win over Down and the new qualifier system already ensures an improvement on last year, when we were hammered in the first round by Derry in May. "For the lads still in the team, it has made them more aware of how long a summer can be on the sidelines."

The Cavan skipper has only positive things to say about the new format. "It's encouraging to know that you can progress, with the possibility of being still there in July without hitting the big guns," he says.

Reaching for the fishing rod in June to while away the summer months, as was so often the lot of former captain Stephen King and team-mates, is no longer an option for this latest band of Cavan footballers.