Can Flanagan work magic with Pearses?

Well now, what have we here?

On the face of it, little more than a sure thing. Corofin haven’t been beaten in Galway for six seasons.

They’ve won four of the last five Connachts and they’ve seen off Nemo Rangers and Dr Crokes in the last two All-Ireland finals with a combined 37 points to spare. Slaughtneil finished 10 points adrift of them on St Patrick’s Day in 2015.

It isn’t just the quantity of trophies Corofin have been amassing, or even the yawning gaps on the scoreboards, that have caught the eye so much as the quality of the football they have played in doing it.

Those last two All-Ireland finals were particularly impressive advertisements for the manner in which the club is carrying itself and shunting all-comers aside.

“We got schooled by the best team,” said Crokes selector Niall ‘Botty’ O’Callaghan after last year’s All-Ireland.

Schooled is not a word you hear escaping too often from the lips of beaten players or coaches but no-one batted an eye when O’Callaghan used it. It fit.

Nemo still have the most titles, and Crossmaglen’s concentration of successes in a narrow 15-year window makes a strong case for their status as best club side of all time, but Corofin are eating prodigiously into both claims as they tuck into their latest fare.

Pádraig Pearses, on the other hand, are only a handful of weeks removed from a first ever Roscommon title.

Seven finals had been played and all were lost prior to a breakthrough defeat of Roscommon Gaels six weeks ago. Five of those had been suffered in the last decade alone.

They would have been forgiven for downing tools in October, as so many sides have done in the past when a previously unattainable summit has been crested.

The provincial club scene is littered with the detritus of teams, hurling and football, whose fire was all but extinguished by a long-sought after county title. That’s perfectly understandable. Human nature is what it is and yet Pádraig Pearses give the impression of a side not yet sated by their historic year.

Manager Pat Flanagan, for one, could have been forgiven for cashing in his chips after bringing a maiden crown back to the parish. The former Offaly, Westmeath and Sligo boss has made the collection of such baubles a personal crusade whenever and wherever he has coached on the club scene.

His success this year has extended a habit of claiming a county title with every club side he has handled. He did it twice with both the Clara and Tyrrellspass seniors.

He claimed an intermediate with Kilbeggan and he has delivered minor and U21s titles to boot. But Flanagan clearly wants more.

“I would have an expectation that we would do exceptionally well,” he told the RTÉ GAA podcast when asked after the county success what their hopes and dreams might be for the forthcoming Connacht campaign.

He has made similar noises about his side in the run-up to this latest ascent. Pearses, he has said, have the potential to be an “exceptional” football team.

Having players playing at elite level can be more of a curse than a blessing in achieving that.

Pearses have five on the Roscommon panel that won its own Connacht title this year. Four of them, Conor Daly, Ronan Daly, Niall Daly and David Murray, were regular starters.

Remarkable as it may seem now, the club struggled to find the numbers for some league games in their absence this year.

Flanagan, though, has painted their presence as nothing but a positive. Most of them are defenders and they have slotted back in to a solid and consistent structure.

The Westmeath man believes their experiences with the county side this summer have served to spur them on, to strike again while the iron is hot.

The collective has not been found wanting.

A strong Gaels comeback was fended off in the Roscommon decider and they have had to beat Tir Chonaill Gaels and Tourlestrane on the road.

Tomorrow will see them enter enemy ‘territory’ again, this time in Tuam.

Logic and history is against them.

The number of clubs to have added a provincial football title to a first ever county success in the same season barely stretches into double figures but Corofin have found their provincial deciders to be a tougher slog than their coronations on St Patrick’s Day and they have allowed opponents some breathing space at times this year when the game looked up.

And the last side to end a chase for three straight All-Ireland club titles?

The Roscommon champions. St Brigid’s edging out Crossmaglen in Mullingar eight years ago was huge. This would be enormous.

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