FAI Cup final: Such has been the pace of change at Drogheda United over the past few years that a little short of five seasons after arriving at the club 26-year-old striker Declan O'Brien is about the closest thing they have to a permanent fixture.

Only Gary Rogers, the goalkeeper signed from Shelbourne around the same time, has been at the club as long as the Dubliner, but not even the local boy can quite match Fabio's (O'Brien's nickname) popularity, having gained something approaching cult status since arriving from Leinster Senior League outfit Verona.

"I'm not quite sure what it is," the player laughs, "but I suppose there is a special rapport there. Maybe it's that I'm one of only a couple of lads that have been through some bad times with the club, but it's good; I definitely enjoy playing in front of them."

The name Fabio, he explains with a hint of embarrassment, was the work of team-mates from his schoolboy football days: "There's a bit of Italian in the family on my mother's side and, eh, I suppose I had a bit of a tan at one stage. It's a long story." he explains.

With everyone at United determined to secure a first major honour for the club this Sunday at Lansdowne Road, it's easy to forget just how bad things got a few years back, but O'Brien remembers the problems that overshadowed the period that followed his arrival. "The club was ambitious even then," he recalls. "Harry (McCue) was working very hard to bring it on to the next level and even then there were a few of us that were full-time professionals; we'd go out each day with Noel King but there were never the numbers - just four or five of us - or the resources to make it all work.

"It's very different now. The current board have transformed everything and between them and Paul Doolin they make sure that nobody wants for anything. It's unrecognisable really."

The influx of investment has brought with it raised expectations, but O'Brien feels the team is doing as well as could be expected at this point in their development. "People were talking about us challenging for the league this year, but to be honest I don't think that was ever realistic," he says.

"The fact is the manager has been bedding down players for most of this season . . . a couple of them, Jason Gavin and Keith Fahey, only arrived a couple of months ago and there'll probably be more changes once Sunday's game is out of the way. You can't do that and expect to compete with the likes of Shelbourne, Cork and Derry straight off.

" We're still a bit short of being the finished article, but if we could beat Cork on Sunday it will be another reminder to everyone that we're getting there."

The club's three games with City this year have, he points out, been tight and despite Cork's general superiority this season he believes Sunday's game has the potential to be an open and entertaining contest.

"Both sides have quick players who like to play a bit of football," he says. "The big pitch, if it hasn't been cut up too badly by the rugby, should suit both of us and it could be a very good game."

Around Drogheda right now, that's something of a secondary consideration. The town has responded with considerable enthusiasm to the prospect of a first major honour and the players have filled in most of the gaps in recent weeks visiting schools and attending a succession of functions.

"It's been brilliant to experience the buzz around the whole thing," he says. "But that's not to say we're going to settle for that. The club is aiming for real success now and the hope here is that a win on Sunday will be a stepping stone to much bigger things."