Seán Moran talks to former Armagh manager Brian Canavan ahead of Sunday's clash with Tyrone

A year ago Brian Canavan was getting worked up for Armagh's Ulster championship opener against Tyrone. Joint-manager of Armagh with Brian McAlinden, he spent six years at the coalface of intercounty football.

Success came with back-to-back Ulster titles two years ago and a replayed All-Ireland semi-final that brought the county as close as it has ever been to an All-Ireland, losing to eventual champions Kerry in extra time.

With the match four days away does he miss the involvement? "Not one bit. I'm doing some broadcasting with BBC radio and I'm really enjoying it - no pressure. I was looking at Dom Corrigan and Jack McCarville (Fermanagh and Monaghan managers) in Clones last weekend and thinking, 'thanks be to God'."

Up in his broadcasting eyrie, Canavan says he has a better vantage point than is possible when prowling the sideline.

"Sitting back up gives you a far better perspective. Then the problem is that you can identify the problem but you just don't have anyone on the bench who's any better. Most teams have at best one top-class replacement and he's often a forward on the way back from injury."

Over his six years in charge, Canavan's teams played Tyrone on three occasions, winning in 2000 but losing in 1997 and last year. He says there is nothing mysterious about matches between these neighbours and that simple imperatives govern the relationship.

"People say that the Ulster championship is really tough and very open. In reality only three or at most four counties are going to win it. In essence that means Armagh, Derry, Tyrone or maybe Donegal. I know that counties try and build themselves up into a frenzy and the begrudgery gets built up but we beat Tyrone two years ago because we were a better team and they beat us last year because they were better.

"The fixture is fairly intense and does have that bit extra rivalry. But there's a lot of inter-marriage around Armagh city where the counties have intermingled. Tyrone supporters are that bit more vociferous and really ignite coming up to big games."

On Sunday in Clones, Tyrone will arrive as National League winners and with the best league form of any county. Canavan doesn't see it as cause for too much alarm on Armagh's behalf.

"If I was still managing Armagh I wouldn't be overly worried by what I saw from Tyrone - well, maybe a bit, but I would feel if we play to our best we will beat them."

Last year Armagh's defeat by Tyrone was palliated by the introduction of the qualifier system. The county had a titanic confrontation with Galway at Croke Park in round three and despite coming back to level it, lost to a last-minute point from Paul Clancy.

"There was a big difference between Galway and us," he recalls. "They had players coming back into the team. I spoke to John O'Mahony afterwards and said to him that Armagh weren't going to be any better than we had been that day but that Galway were improving."

It was the third successive year that Armagh lost to the eventual All-Ireland champions. The most agonising came in 2000 when the team twice appeared to have defeated Kerry. A famous Maurice Fitzgerald free kick levelled the match the first day and despite that demoralising knock Armagh were almost out of sight by half-time in the replay.

Even when the match was turned around by Michael Francis Russell's goal, Armagh had chances in extra time to save the day but Declan O'Keeffe made fine saves from Diarmuid Marsden and Oisin McConville.

"Kerry were a powerful team," says Canavan, "and too many of them played well for us in the end. But when Kieran McGeeney scored at the end of the first match I thought we were there. But to concede a silly free four minutes into injury-time was so frustrating. We made two mistakes leading up to it and if either hadn't been made, we would have won.

"But that's what happened. I don't think too much about it. Maybe in 20 years I'll be looking back regretting it all over again but I don't think so."