Shane Horan: Kilmacud Crokes benefiting from Shane Walsh's tactical acumen

The words of Kilmacud Crokes manager Robbie Brennan were some comfort in the aftermath of last season's All-Ireland SFC club final.

The Stillorgan side were undone at the death in extra-time by a Jerome Johnston goal that saw Kilcoo claim a maiden title.

Kilmacud forward Shane Horan remembers the aftermath and the few words uttered by the manager.

Ahead of this Sunday's Leinster final against The Downs, he told RTÉ Sport: "In the changing room everyone was obviously quite down but Robbie said something like 'the next final is in 12 months and we'll be back here'. That's all he needed to say at the time and that's all that was said."

"We left Croke Park, went back to the club, back to our families and kind of forgot about it, to be honest. A lot of lads took a bit of time off and then regrouped in April/May and rebuilt through the summer then. And then when we hit July we knew we had to focus again and look at our three-game blocks and each game as it came because Dublin is so tough and it took so long for a lot of guys including me to get a Dublin title.

"You know how hard it is so I think we were sharp from the start because of that."

Kilmacud are now two steps away from securing another All-Ireland final date, but first will look to claim a sixth provincial crown against the Westmeath champions at Croke Park, this after the club's hurler's go for a first Leinster crown against Ballyhale Shamrocks.

Heady days indeed.

And while the 'superclub' narrative is often attached to the Crokes, Horan points to the level of volunteerism that has them so competitive on a lot of fronts.

"I understand what people are saying but at the end of the day, it's the same GAA volunteers bringing teams out, the same parents out lining pitches," he