The All-Ireland B competition is a volatile entity. Its capacity to thrive varies greatly from year to year, depending on the participants. Great was the excitement when Leitrim (1990), Clare (1991), Carlow (1994) and Fermanagh (1996) won the trophy but in other years Wicklow and Laois were less jubilant. These teams were already peripheral contenders at the top level and not as impressed with prospering in a lowlier environment.

Unfortunately for this year's final, two similar counties are involved. Neither Clare nor Louth will feel much gutwrenching if defeat is their lot but there are other reasons why the B competition this year has not captured the imagination.

Crucially, it is being held about two weeks earlier than usual and is running into a stack of competing club fixtures. Louth's Stabannon Parnells are playing in Longford and the Clare floating supporter may gravitate towards the Clare county hurling final.

Clare are slightly favoured to win the match and if they do so, can claim the distinction of being the first county to win the title twice. Their semi-final win over Monaghan was more convincing than their opponents' narrow defeat of Carlow but Louth have their own agenda.

The county has used the competition very deliberately as a means of blooding some younger players. Of the six defenders playing tomorrow, only Gareth O'Neill was not an under-21 player last season. New manager Paddy Clarke says that the current panel, featuring 13 newcomers, is purely a pre-Christmas selection but it has done well so far.

Two wins in the National League have opened the season nicely, although far harder tests are to come. Progress to tomorrow's final has also been encouraging, even if Clarke now finds the burden of preparation a distraction, with the league still on the agenda.

"Originally I'd hoped to get three matches out of this but you can't stop. Now it's difficult because we're not training hard on Thursdays, with a match coming up we're tapering down - every week."

The desire to rejuvenate playing ranks is understandable. Louth has been a desperately under-achieving county in recent years.

Last season, they were heavily favoured to emerge from the easier side of the draw in the Leinster championship, but were narrowly beaten by Offaly in the semi-final. Clarke believes that the damage to morale that ensued was worsened by the GAA decision to institute four sections of mixed ability in the league, rather than the customary hierarchical structure - after Louth had finally managed last season to achieve promotion to Division One.

There has been a spin-off from the disillusionment. Four senior players, Pat Butterly, Alan Rooney, Brendan Kerins and John Osborne, have decided to `hibernate'. Clarke has advised players who had difficulty motivating themselves for the pre-Christmas programme to stay out until their appetite returns.

One familiar face remains but in a different role. Stephen Melia, a Railway Cup half back over the years, has been converted to centre forward. Throw-in tomorrow at Ballinasloe is at 2.30.

Louth: N O'Donnell; A Carter, G O'Neill, D Brennan; D O'Sullivan, B Philips, A Hoey; G Curran, P Kelly; O McDonnell, S Melia, C Kelly; S White, C O'Hanlon, A Doherty.

Clare: J Hanrahan; D O'Driscoll, F Griffin, A Malone; B Keating, B Rouine, C O'Loughlin; D O'Sullivan, P Cosgrave; G Keane, M Daly, C Shannon; J Enright, A Daly, P McMahon.