Roscommon Gaels have an honoured history in Gaelic football and will be calling on its past glories when the club takes on Ballina Stephenites in the Connacht club final on Sunday.

One of the leaders of their operation will be Clifford McDonald, one of the stalwarts of the Roscommon county team which forced Galway to a replay in this year's Connacht final before Galway went on to win the All-Ireland title. McDonald has no illusions about the size of the task which faces his side on Sunday. "The fact is that we have only one match in the Connacht championship behind us while Ballina have had four. They drew with All-Ireland club champions of last year, Corofin, and then had to play them twice on successive days before moving on to meet the Sligo champions, Eastern Harps. "They were given a really tough test in that match last week and won by a single point. I believe that all of that has given them a competitive edge which will be very hard to resist.

"Matches are always better than training and I am sure that Stephenites have benefited greatly from their matches against Corofin and Eastern Harps. They have been through a number of very hard matches when they had to work to their full potential before getting through. They have been through the mill in all of those matches and it will have focused their approach and boosted the morale of the side.

"It is five weeks since we beat Melvin Gaels so I expect that we will be at a considerable disadvantage. We have been doing a lot of ball work and some sprinting. We did some tough training, stamina stuff and so on, at the start of the season but recently the emphasis has been on ball work and we have enjoyed it. But Ballina will certainly be favourites, particularly after their matches against Corofin and Eastern Harps," he says.

Yet he is not negative about the chances of Roscommon Gaels. "We have a well-balanced team and we have two injured players back in action. When we played the Leitrim champions we were missing two of our key defenders, Kevin Keegan and Michael Ryan.

"I was moved back to centre half back to deputise for Kevin Keegan in that match but I am now pleased to be back in my normal position at right half forward. I like to be part of the attack, to be given some space. There is more liberty out on the wing and the return of Kevin and Michael means that we have a stronger and more experienced defence. "I believe that if our defence can break even with the Ballina attack our own forwards can swing the match our way. We work very hard and have a good understanding of the way each of us plays. We work as a unit and that is our main strength," he says.

He speaks of the team's goalkeeper/manager/coach, Christy Grogan, as an important factor in the side. "Christy is probably the most experienced player in the side and we have Padraig Oates and Fergal O'Donnell at midfield and they will have a huge influence on the game." He has no problem about playing Ballina on their home pitch. "It is fair enough that matches of this kind can go around. My only worry is that there has been a lot of rain within the last few days and I am told that the Ballina pitch is very heavy. This tends to slow down the pace of the match. Our forwards are not very big but they are quick and nimble. A heavy pitch will always be to the benefit of strong players who may not be all that mobile.

"Of course the playing conditions will be the same for both sides and I am sure that Ballina would prefer a dry pitch and a dry day. Nobody likes playing in mud and rain. We played there a couple of years ago and in good weather conditions it is a fine pitch, but it could be different at the moment. "As far as our supporters are concerned they want us to take the title and go on to take the All-Ireland. Ballina will be favourites after beating the reigning champions but we have no fears. We have been scoring pretty well in our matches in the county championship this year and we have averaged 12 to 15 points a match.

"Our support is based in Roscommon town and we hope they will turn out in big numbers. We need all the help we can get. I believe that we can win but it will certainly be close. They have a very strong midfield with Liam McHale and David Brady but we have plans about that which I won't talk about," he says.

The importance of the club championship has developed greatly over recent years and the new feeling of confidence in Connacht football will, surely, spill over onto the pitch at Ballina on Sunday when a well-contested match seems certain.