Slaughtneil manager Paul McCormack admits his players will have to reach “another level” to compete with Cork side Sarsfields in Sunday’s All-Ireland Club Hurling semi-final.
The Robert Emmet’s outfit clinched their fifth provincial title in eight seasons with back-to-back thrilling victories over last year’s champions Cushendall and Portaferry.
However, McCormack says even more will be required to live with the Munster champions at Newbridge (13:30 GMT).
“It’s a Derry hurling team against a Cork team,” the former Armagh dual player told BBC Sport Northern Ireland.
“We’re under no illusions about the standard we need to get to. The challenge is can they get to that standard. The altitude has got thinner and we’re just looking to go that one more step.”
Slaughtneil have lost all four of their previous All-Ireland semi-finals but McCormack believes his players can “draw on the experience of being here before”.
“Unfortunately, the step up the last number of times was a bridge too far.
“Will it be the same on Sunday? Who knows but one thing I know for sure is that those men will be putting all their energies and everything they have into that jersey to play well in Newbridge.”
Armagh man McCormack looked to be facing an onerous task after taking on the Slaughtneil job following’s Michael McShane departure last December.
McShane guided the Robert Emmets outfit to their first Ulster triumph in 2016 and three more provincial titles were accumulated in addition to nine successive Derry championships during his time in charge.
But McCormack achieved something that even McShane didn’t manage in the Ulster Club Championship by masterminding a victory over Cushendall after the Derry outfit’s four previous provincial defeats by the Ruairi Ogs.
His side followed that semi-final victory by fighting back from seven points down at half-time to edge out Portaferry in an Ulster Final thriller.
Having juggled both football and hurling during his own career, which included being part of Joe Kernan’s Armagh All-Ireland winning panel in 2002, the Keady man knows all about the kind of workload willingly taken out by the host of dual players in the Slaughtneil squad.
“It probably gave me an insight into the players psyche and what they wanted to do.
I’ve said this as a player myself, hurling, football…..where’s the next game? How can I prepare for it. Who is the next challenge against?
“That’s what I see there from those fellows. They just want to play games. Represent Slaughtneil as best they can. Pull on that jersey and go for it.”
The total buy-in from the local community has been key to Slaughtneil’s success in football, hurling and camogie over the past decade or more and McCormack was aware of that when he took the job after having previously seen online and in broadcast media the homecoming celebrations videos which the club have become renowned for.
McCormack told his squad that the “hall would be filled again this year” because of their exploits and it duly happened after their Ulster Club Final victory.
“I said that to the men beforehand that I could see this happening. Just stay with it. This is going to happen. That hall will be filled and you will be walking through it and you will be on the stage.
“It was an amazing evening. A privilege to be there. My whole family was there. What an evening and something I’ll remember for a long time but we want another one.”
