Seán Moran talks to Tyrone's Peter Canavan who is battling to be fit forSunday's final

It is said one reason for neutrals to hope for a Tyrone victory over Armagh next weekend is the prospect of Peter Canavan at last winning an All-Ireland medal. Such charitable sentiments are at odds with the Tyrone captain's intensely competitive nature but they do reflect a consensus.

He is the best forward of the past 10 years or longer not to have won an All-Ireland medal. Those contemporaries who operated at Canavan's elite level have received their reward.

Trevor Giles pulled the strings on Meath's two titles in the 1990s, Maurice Fitzgerald went supernova for Kerry in 1997 but Canavan, despite 11 points in the 1995 All-Ireland defeat by Dublin, hasn't yet crowned his career - the only Footballer of the Year from the past decade not to have an All-Ireland medal.

He burst onto the national stage with commanding performances as Tyrone won two under-21 All-Irelands and has rarely left football's higher consciousness, from the county's back-to-back senior Ulster titles in the mid 1990s through his displays in the International Rules series and a clutch of All Stars.

But potentially the most significant event in Canavan's long career took place 14 minutes into last month's All-Ireland semi-final against Kerry. The damage to his ankle ligaments continues to cast a slight shadow over his readiness for the final but in his absence came the proof that things have changed.

As long as Tyrone have been considered contenders a succession of players have been acclaimed as the forward who would take the pressure off Canavan. It's easy to forget Adrian Cush, long ago retired, started off as Canavan's equal in the public perception. But not until this year has there been a genuinely supportive attack.

It's impossible to think of any other Tyrone team in the past 10 years that could have lost Canavan as early in a major match and still won. As he puts it: "It was dreadful having to watch it but I was heartened at how the boys played."

There was a certain irony in Canavan being effectively absent from the county's biggest victory in nearly 50 years of contesting the All-Ireland stages. Before the Kerry match Tyrone had had an eventful passage without having to face what might be termed elite opposition. Canavan felt Tyrone's biggest potential problem was inconsistency and if anything, Kerry were the ones to suffer from a less than gruelling campaign.

"I was worried our pattern to date was play well one match and play mediocre the next. But after 10 or 15 minutes you could have figured Tyrone were well up for the game, well motivated and playing well. After that I was quite confident we'd win.

"Kerry had played a lot of the weaker counties, if you want to use that word, and I think our intensity caught them out. It definitely took them 15 or 20 minutes to settle into the game. That's not going to happen to Armagh."

Less than a year ago Canavan's prospects of a breakthrough All-Ireland looked confined to the club championship in which he was starring with Errigal Ciarán. Art McRory wanted to step down as Tyrone manager and the county board were reluctant to allow his joint manager Eugene McKenna to take over. This messy state of affairs was an unpromising backdrop to the appointment of Errigal's coach Mickey Harte. Through his association with the new manager Canavan felt confident.

"The panel was strong enough at the start of the year to do well. Of course there would have been question marks over Mickey's potential in that it was his first year and people didn't know if he would settle. I think he's answered a lot of questions himself by getting the team this far. But not for one second would Mickey be a happy man if he didn't win the All-Ireland."

Harte set out to retain the National League, a common enough ambition in first-year managers but a brave stance in a county whose first NFL success last year had been followed by a disappointing championship. Tyrone did just that but Canavan doesn't dismiss the view spring success can have its down side.

"It very nearly was a hindrance. If Derry had pipped us by a point people would have said the league was a distraction. I suppose it was Mickey's goal first of all. He felt there were a lot of young players that he felt needed the experience of playing quality matches and playing at Croke Park. So he was quite determined that Tyrone should do well."

Having suffered the disappointment of 1995 Canavan knows you don't play All-Irelands for experience, first chances are often the best. His second chance has come but he'll be telling his younger colleagues not to count on it.

"If it takes us another seven or eight years to get to one, I'll hardly be in it. I thought the team was good enough then to be back and maybe you take it for granted when you get there that you should stay there for a few years. But it's not that easily done and I'll be telling these boys to make the most of what they have. There's a chance here. Don't be waiting on next year or the year after."