SetantaCupFixturesThe players' union might be among those bemused to hear that there is a place where Eircom League clubs are now considered to be financial high fliers but, as the Setanta Cup was officially launched in Belfast yesterday, officials from Northern Ireland's leading side's have conceded they are now very much the Irish game's poor relations.

With a tight three-way title race entering its final stages, the Irish League's representatives in the new competition might well wish that it had come at a more appropriate time but, as Portadown manager Ronnie McFaul admitted, the financial plight of even the North's big three means that the cross-Border event will be a priority regardless of the impact that might have on a club's championship prospects.

"Obviously, there's a lot of interest," he said, "but the reality is that you get £5,000 for winning the Irish league and there's 20 times that amount for winning this competition.

"You could say that coming just now it's a bit of an inconvenience, we'll have five games in less than two weeks at one stage because of it, but the reality is that we'll be playing our strongest side in every game because it's hugely important to us to do well in the competition."

McFaul speaks with a hint of awe about the way budgets at Southern clubs have soared in recent years and insists that the relative financial muscle of clubs such as Shelbourne and Cork City means that they will start as firm favourites for the title. "If you look at the number of clubs in the south that are full-time or are heading that way then that alone gives you an indication that has developed over the last few years," he says. "My squad is completely part-time with the exception of one player - Vinny Arkins.

"Four or five years ago I would have said that the Irish League teams were that bit ahead of the ones in the South but there's been a complete turnaround in recent seasons."

Longford will be the first Eircom League side to compete in the cup when they go to the Oval for their game with Glentoran on Tuesday and the club's striker Paul Keegan is happy to go into the competition as outsiders.

"The bottom line," he says, "is that nobody would have said we would win two of the three trophies up for grabs last season so it will suit us just fine.

"We're happy to be in the competition and confident about our prospects but whatever happens it will be a valuable exercise, because the home and away element makes it very similar to European competition so it will be useful preparation for the UEFA Cup."

Group One

March 15th: Glentoran v Longford Town. April 4th: Longford Town v Linfield. April 19th: Linfield v Glentoran. April 25th: Longford Town v Glentoran. May 10th: Linfield v Longford Town. May 16th Glentoran v Linfield.

Group Two

March 22nd: Shelbourne v Portadown. March 28th: Cork City v Shelbourne. April 11th: Portadown v Cork City. April 25th: Portadown v Shelbourne. May 2nd: Shelbourne v Cork City. May 16th: Cork City v Portadown.

FINAL: May 21st.

Minimum of 10 of the 13 games will be shown live on Setanta Sports.