Maguire: It would be amazing to deposit some new memories after a torrid season for Cork

SEAN MAGUIRE left Cork City in 2017 believing he'd end up with at feast 50 Ireland caps.

- BY MARK McCADDEN

But as much as he treasures the 11 he won ~ and his goal against New Zealand in October 2019 (right) - everything would be topped by an FAI Cup final win against Shamrock Rovers tomorrow.

He reckons “90 per cent” of people have already written off the relegated side against the League of Ireland champions.

But that kind of talk will spur City on, just as it did in the semifinals against St Patrick's Athletic.

Maguire tells a funny story from that game - one that is most definitely untrue, as anyone who knows Pat's boss Stephen Kenny would acknowledge.

Nonetheless, it gave a little extra spark to the Cork performance.

“Sometimes managers do say, ‘Tm hearing this, 'm hearing that’ just to get the boys motivated” he said. “It did happen, a few people coming up to us before the Pat's game saying Stephen Kenny has already been into Louis Copeland's for his suit but it probably didn’t happen.

“But I've generally heard people back in Kilkenny and TV and radio and media and stuff like that saying that Rovers are gearing up for the double.