He remembers the good days because his father, Jim, used to bring him to Shamrock Rovers games as a kid, but as Terry Palmer gears up for another FAI Cup semi-final he acknowledges the club's fans are long overdue a little something to cheer about, writes Emmet Malone
It's now 15 years since the team won the piece of silverware that used to look most familiar when it had green and white ribbons attached. And having lost out at this stage of the competition for the last two years, neither Palmer nor anyone else at the club has any great argument with the fact that Bohemians rather than Rovers will start tomorrow as favourites to progress to this year's decider.
"When we played them earlier in the season they beat us comfortably," he recalls. "I mean we scored two late goals to make it 3-2, but they were comfortably better than us overall.
"They've got a lot of good players and everybody knows about the strikers; (Glen) Crowe's an excellent finisher, Paul (Keegan) has some great touches, he's very clever. But if we can keep tight on them and stop them playing out wide where they like to get it then I still feel we've got a very good chance."
Motivation, the 29-year-old former UCD defender insists, is certainly not an issue. Several of the squad have been on the losing side in both of those previous semi-finals - also against Bohemians two seasons ago and then at Oriel Park in April - and besides, "nobody wants to be known as a player who lost three cup semis in a row".
A few weeks ago it seemed Palmer might escape that stigma himself by simply not being involved in a game like this, his role in the first team having apparently been stymied by the arrival of Stephen McGuinness from Dundalk. Having played in every single game for the past two years, he admits to having been concerned when the new man arrived, while insisting he believes in the need for the club to have some competition for places.
"I did talk to Liam about it all right, because I felt Pat (Scully) and I had done quite well together last year - in fact I thought the whole team generally defended well - and at the time he told me the intention was to play three at the back, with the three of us and Pat Deans competing for the places.
"As it turned out he has settled into playing a flat back four, and after being away (Palmer's wedding and honeymoon had been pencilled in long before the change in season had been agreed) it took me a few weeks to get fully fit again. I had to wait a while for my chance but since it came I've been happy enough with the way it has gone for me."
Last year's late collapse (two cup semi-final defeats and a miserable run in the league) was, he says, to some extent the result of the club remaining largely part-time in an increasingly professional league.
"When the weather gets back we've struggled the last few years, I think, because we're having to train in difficult conditions late at night, whereas the full-time lads have all day. They get to rest up as well and their recovery time from injuries is far better."
The change of season should help, he points out, particularly in the cup where the competition will be wrapped up at the end of this month. So could this be the breakthrough the club's long-suffering fans have been waiting for?
"I certainly hope so. There've been so many false dawns at the club and the fans have had to put up with a lot, but the expectation here is still huge. They expect a cup, and make you aware of it. Sunday's a big opportunity for us to finally live up to those expectations, and after the last two years we're more determined than ever to do it."
