Silke needed to tie down attacker and stop looting

Thirty. No wrinkles, what the barber calls a number one shave, and the hint of menace in his voice. Ray Silke, who rode the roller coaster joy-ride in 1998 with as much abandon as anyone, looks pretty much the same and is back for more. But with a difference. This time round, the freedom of the wing has been replaced by the confines of the corner and with it one of the toughest jobs in Gaelic football: to shackle Michael Frank Russell.

It's the sort of assignment you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy. Yet, here in Tuam Stadium, in the evenings before the All-Ireland final, there's no inkling of unfolding drama. The autumn sun that you know is dipping towards Galway Bay is slowly disappearing beyond the withered old stand and fun-loving teenage cheerleaders are noisily letting all and sundry know which team has captured their hearts. It's not green and gold.

Silke, captain on that wonderful odyssey two years ago, is as relaxed as they come. Shunted back into the corner by an emerging Declan Meehan - "he was very unfortunate to miss out in '98," concedes Silke - there is almost a gratitude in his voice that he is still an integral part of the quest to reclaim the Sam Maguire.

"You feel you're just one step away from the hangman's noose, going back to the corner, that the next step is the line," he remarks, only half-jokingly.

Strange thing is, the move backwards has resulted in Silke being handed one of the most important tasks on Sunday. "Well, yeah, marking a player of Michael Frank's calibre is a big challenge . . . but if you don't want to play in Croke Park on All-Ireland final day marking good players then you shouldn't really be playing."

The ring of confidence that was developed two years ago is still there. "We know we can win. Kerry in '97 proved they have a lot of pedigree. People say they went through a lean period of 11 years, but a lot of counties went through 32 years. We've a lot of respect for them, but we're confident if we can play to our potential it will be a very exciting game," says Silke.

No one is more exciting with a ball in his hands, or at his feet, than Russell. And to Silke falls the honour of taming him. His move back to the number four jersey is what he calls "one of the challenges that John O'Mahony presents for you", but it was brought about by finding someone to replace Tomas Mannion.

"Trying to fill the boots of Tomas isn't a job that I'd have taken on," admits Silke. But he adapted and, now, says: "It's great to keep going. If Willie O'Connor can knock a few more years out of it, if I can do as well as him, I'll be happy."

Sunday will answer many questions, many of them posed by Russell. Silke remembers first noticing Russell back in 1996 when the young Kerryman was only emerging on the scene. His club Corofin lost to Russell's club Laune Rangers.

More recently, he took further note of the man's ability in Kerry's semi-final win over Armagh. "Very talented, very clinical. What? He touched the ball five times, scored 2-3. What more can one say?"

Silke is aware of the skill involved in Gaelic football and of the part that Kerry play in such skill stakes. "When you think of the quality of passing by Maurice Fitzgerald, it's like something Marco Van Basten or Michael Owen, who get thousands of pounds to do it, would do. Awesome. If Michael Frank Russell gets quality ball, then I'm under pressure. Our whole objective as a team is to work very hard to keep them out."

Turn the situation around, and Kerry are likely concocting ways to keep the likes of Padraig Joyce and Derek Savage at bay. So, Silke's assessment that it is an "All-Ireland in the traditional sense, one that will keep the traditionalists happy" seems a very accurate one.

Yet, despite all the respect for Kerry, Silke is a little surprised that they reached the final. "I actually fancied Armagh to a certain degree. They seemed to have a lot of conviction all year, to win two Ulsters and then all the sound-bites they gave out in the run-up to the semi-final. But, then, it's an example of the resolve that Kerry have this year. They're very keen to get back three years on and win another All-Ireland.

"In 1997, a lot of the media unfairly painted a picture of the Maurice Fitzgerald show. I think Dara O Cinneide and Liam Hassett are very under-rated players, particularly Liam. He made a huge difference when he came on the last day (against Armagh)."

Unlike some defenders, who seem to resent all the attention that is thrown the way of forwards, Silke has no problems with accepting his perceived place in the ladder.

"You can correlate it with international soccer players like Michael Owen and forwards who get paid more and get more attention. That's the way it is. The likes of the Neville brothers and Denis Irwin are quiet, unassuming characters.

"Quality players play up front, that's the reality. Padraig Joyce, Derek Savage, Niall Finnegan are fine, fine players. Michael Donnellan. Forwards excite people, forwards score goals.

"If you ask anyone in Croke Park of 30 players who'd they would like to be reincarnated as, apart from Seamus Moynihan, they're going to go for a forward.

"That's the way it is. Among a lot of supporters there's a lot of unfulfilled footballers in there and when you can see what Padraig Joyce can do with a ball, or Michael Frank Russell, obviously they're going to get the attention . . . and most of them are better looking as well!"

Silke's somewhat tongue-in-cheek observations, however, demonstrate just how relaxed, if aware of the task at hand, they are in the Galway camp.

"The mood is good. It's a different test now to Kildare in 1998. That was a huge novelty factor whereas we're playing the aristocrats of Gaelic football this time, a team with more All-Irelands than anyone else. It's a tough job at hand . . . a big test ahead.

"It's going to be a big leap of faith from our point of view, like driving along the road and suddenly you're into Formula One. It will be a tough nut to crack, but, if we do ourselves justice, and do the business, we can win by a few points."