By Michael McMullan

SEAN Kelly insists that any atmosphere a packed Corrigan Park can generate on Saturday will be dependent on the application of the Antrim players.

The former defender and now selector under manager Enda McGinley feels the players must make the first move and bring a performance not yet seen under the current management.

Two years ago, Antrim led Cavan at half-time with the Breffni side coming back to win on their way to the Ulster title.

“What happened back then doesn’t have a massive relevance to us,” stressed Kelly, using the new management team and a turnover of players as his reasoning,

It’s about the threat Cavan pose on the back of their promotion as Division Four champions in this year’s league.

“They are a serious team; they definitely shouldn’t have been a Division Four team and there are arguments that they are better than a Division Three team as well,” added Kelly, who identified Cavan’s “collective unity” as one of their greatest assets.

“We are going to have to bring a performance that we haven’t provided yet in the past two years since we have been with the panel,” he admitted.

”It is still within our capabilities to produce a performance. It comes down to that old saying of getting ourselves to the right level on Saturday, we’ll put ourselves in a good position that you’ll never know what might happen.”

It’s a statement that casts the memory back to last year’s championship defeat to Armagh when they gave Kieran McGeeney’s side plenty of food for thought before falling away to a heavy defeat.

For Kelly, it’s about extending that period of control and staying within striking distance going into the crucial final quarter when successful teams turn the screw.

“We need to make sure we are there at the stage of the game where there is still the possibility of winning it. We want to be there or thereabouts in that last 10 minutes, that’s when the pressure comes on.”

One of Antrim’s ace cards was Ulster GAA’s decision to overcome taking the game out of Corrigan Park, a venue that has seen the county’s hurlers excel against some the top sides in the country.

It’s expected to be hopping this weekend, something that will add to the occasion.

“We hope there is a great atmosphere, but a lot of the atmosphere tends to get generated once the team is producing on the pitch,” Kelly points out.

“So it’s up to us to go out with intensity in the game and bring the best of what we have. The crowd generally feeds off how a team is doing, so if we can put our foot forward, then hopefully the crowd can help to pull us along.”