Mickey Graham hoping to firm up Cavan foundations with Tailteann Cup success

Cavan manager Mickey Graham didn't have a tough job convincing his squad to set their full focus on the Tailteann Cup after the county's Ulster semi-final defeat to Donegal. He didn’t need to.

The Breffni camp is perhaps one of the tightest in Ulster, and indeed Ireland, Since Graham replaced Mattie McGleenan in late 2018, turnover has been minimal. There have been very few stories of players stepping away. When key players Dara McVeety and Conor Moynagh went travelling ahead of the 2020 season, Cavan responded by winning the Ulster title.

Moynagh is back on board now and is determined not to miss out on championship success this time as Cavan face Westmeath at Croke Park on Saturday in the first-ever Tailteann Cup final.

Full commitment has been key, and Graham said the players knew that was always going to be the case.

"No, I didn’t think so and that’s being quite honest because of the players that are involved in this current set-up," was his response when asked was the Tailteann Cup a tough sell.

"They’re dedicated, they want to progress, they want to move Cavan forward and I knew with the mindset of these players that they were going to give it a good go.

"I don’t think it was going to be a big sell whatsoever, the way the players know me at this stage. If they weren't going to give it a go or some of them had opted them out, and I was going to be involved next year again, they’d know the door probably wouldn’t be knocked.

"It was a way of saying, 'we’re all in this together, nobody is jumping ship here. Let’s stick together and see where we can get to.’

"To put in so much effort in pre-season and over the last three years to just go and throw the towel in just because you lost to Donegal would have been an awful shame.

"To