On the eve of yet another All-Ireland final appearance for the Wexford Youths, manager and socialist TD Mick Wallacetells of the special place he reserves in his heart for the players and team he has managed for over two decades

The Wexford Youths play Mount Merrion on Saturday in Ferrycarrig Park at 5.00pm in this season’s All-Ireland FAI Youths Final - one more chapter in the history of under-18 football in the county and our eighth All Ireland Youths final in fifteen years.

Before we formed the Wexford Youths club in 2006, I had gone to a lot of effort to have the Wexford League’s under-18 side known as the ‘Wexford Youths’ and giving the same name to the club side was a natural progression.

Having managed the county side for the last 21 years, I always think of both teams as the ‘The Youths’ and between them, they have been one of the great pleasures of my life.

For me, it has been about more than just football; the young people that I work with are much more important than the game itself and I’ve always insisted that I try to teach them more about themselves and life than I do about what to do on a pitch.

With the latest group, as with the squads before them, I have tried to instil a particular social philosophy; that only by working together as a unit, sacrificing the self for the good of the team and by really caring for each other can we realise our full potential.

I have always believed that the human being is both a selfish and a social animal and it is only by developing his social nature through interaction with other human beings in a positive way that a person finds real fulfilment.

Like many before them, these players have come to realise that their strength as a unit is much greater that the sum of their individual parts and it was beautiful to watch them show it in Waterford when they beat Waterford Bohemians, John O’Shea’s old club, with a powerful team display.

This squad has been two years in the making - it just doesn't happen over night - and it is terribly difficult to get to an All-Ireland final but we have made it again thanks, in no small part, to victories over three of the country's underage powerhouses: Clonmel Town, Mervue Utd and Bohs.

There are eight rounds in total, though, and you could end up anywhere, playing any opposition with any officials on any pitch. The tournament is merciless, one defeat and you're gone - end of story.

Aside from a straight-forward win in the second round against Peakvilla, when Eric Banville got a hat-trick, Gary Delaney two and Donal Shanley one, every game was tough.

It took a last minute Delaney goal to secure victory away to Clonmel Town in a brilliant third round encounter and two late goals to beat Tramore Athletic 3-1. Then, we were losing 1-0 with the clock ticking down at Oriel Park against Seatown of Dundalk, when Chris Fenner came popped up with two goals.

Next up, at home to Mervue Utd, it took a penalty shoot out - our 15th penalty shoot out success in a row over the last six years.

So, by the time we arrived in Waterford to play the Munster Youth Champions, Bohemians, we had experience, history and a growing mental strength. All 19 players in the squad have played their part, only eleven can play at a time but it's taken ever one of them to get us where we are.

Now, the final against Mount Merrion represents another new challenge; they are an excellent football side, among the best in Dublin's DDSL and linked with UCD. I’ve watched them a few times and they are impressive; good footballers who keep possession well and are measured in their work.

But if the Wexford Youths play with honesty, passion and that sense of unity and togetherness, win or lose, I will be proud of them, proud to have worked with them, proud to have known them, proud enough to never forget them.

Forza Youths.