Ian O'Riordan talks to Longford manager Luke Dempsey who is more confident facing Dublin this year

With the possible exception of the ticket officer in Pearse Park the most wanted man in GAA circles this week is probably Luke Dempsey. The Longford manager finds himself in the middle of one of the more fascinating games of the summer - Dublin's visit to Longford for Sunday's sell-out Leinster championship quarter-final.

Dublin are expected to win, and win well. When the teams met in Croke Park last year Dublin won by 19 points. But that doesn't take from what should be a true championship game in the truest of championship atmospheres. For this week Dempsey is part manager, part promoter.

"Yeah, the phone has been hopping all week," he says. "I'm talking to someone else here about it, and I'm on supervision duty in five minutes. I've been slagged at school for saying the word absolutely so many times this week, but it is absolutely fantastic that a game like this is being played in Longford.

"I think a sensible approach for all these early matches is to pack the county grounds like Longford and Mullingar and Tullamore. If Manchester United are travelling to Colchester for example, you just pack the stadium even if there's a limited quota of tickets. But hopefully this isn't the only week the phone is hopping. Hopefully it will hopping before the Laois semi-final as well. Or Carlow, of course."

Dempsey is somewhat removed from the hype. He lives in Mullingar, and teaches in Rochfortbridge, but he knows it will take the shock of the summer for Longford to progress. Yet Longford are at least intent on being far more competitive than last year, and Dempsey can afford to be confident about that.

"Personally, I was very apprehensive going into that Dublin game last year. We'd just lost our best midfielder Liam Keenan. Trevor Smullen was out suspended and Paul Barden had just come back. Longford have such a small pool of players that something like that had to be a worry.

"But we have two things going for us this year. First of all we're in Longford, and we also have a full panel to choose from, including the very talented under-21 team. So I think everyone is looking forward to the game a lot more than last year."

The team includes four players from this year's under-21 side that had a memorable run to the Leinster final, only to narrowly lose to Laois. Full back Noel Farrell and wing forward Padraig Berry make their debuts, while midfielder Bernard McElvaney and corner forward Brian Kavanagh were called up last year.

"I actually think we've been quite moderate in our pick from that under-21 team," says Dempsey "At one stage I thought we would have seven under-21s. In the end we went for experience. We had to change something after last year's heavy defeat. The under-21 panel are a talented crew, the future of Longford football, so in that regard I don't look on it as a gamble, but rather the way forward."

There is experience too, especially after Dempsey coaxed Smullen back after he'd missed the league: "I approached him after the league and asked him back. We're delighted he did, because he's a great athlete."

While the stage is set for the biggest championship match in Longford in years, there is always the danger Dublin might just steamroll them: "Of course you always have that in the back of your mind," admits Dempsey, "But I'm far more excited about the thought of challenging Dublin, and trying to beat them."